1890 Queen Anne Mansion of David and Sarah Morey
190 Terracina Blvd, Redlands, CA 92373
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The mansion is a private residence and is not open to the public. Drive-by exterior viewing only.
Access
Limited Access
Public sidewalk on Terracina Boulevard.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1890 · Queen Anne Architecture · Inland Empire Citrus-Era History · Redlands Historic Landmark
The Morey Mansion was built in 1890 by David and Sarah Morey at a cost of approximately $20,000, financed by the sale of Sarah Morey's citrus nursery the previous year. David had moved to Redlands in 1882 to retire from carpentry and shipbuilding, and his earlier maritime work shaped the house's distinctive ornament: the interior carvings include anchors and other nautical motifs.
Architect Jerome Seymour designed the building primarily in the Queen Anne Style, integrating French, Italian, and East Asian decorative elements. The living area covers 4,800 square feet across twenty rooms.
Less than two years after the Moreys moved into the completed house, Sarah Morey died suddenly of illness. According to the Redlands Area Historical Society and city interpretive material, the grief-stricken David Morey is recorded as never returning to the house; he relocated to the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, where he died by suicide within a year.
Willard Cheney purchased the property in 1906; the Cheney family nicknamed the house Hermosa Vista. Through the twentieth century the mansion passed through multiple owners, including a period beginning in 1985 when then-owners Carl Ljungquist and Gary Conway opened it as the first bed and breakfast in Redlands. Janet Cosgrove acquired the house in 1998 and reopened it as a bed and breakfast in 2006 after extensive renovation. In 2010, Sara and Bill Taylor purchased the mansion to use as their private residence; it has remained in private ownership since.
Sources
Most paranormal accounts associated with Morey Mansion date from its decades as a bed and breakfast under the Ljungquist-Conway ownership beginning in 1985 and the later Cosgrove-era reopening in 2006. Guests during these eras reported a recurring set of phenomena: objects falling without an identified cause, loud bangs in unoccupied rooms, doorknobs rattling at night, and doors opening and closing on their own.
Reported apparitions cluster around three figures. A young girl is the most frequently described, often glimpsed briefly in upper-floor rooms. A young boy is reported less frequently, and an older man identified by past bed-and-breakfast staff as a former caretaker has been described as appearing on the staircase or in service areas. Past staff and guests generally characterized the encounters as quiet rather than threatening.
The documented circumstances of David Morey's life — his rapid bereavement and death by suicide in San Diego the year after Sarah's death — are often cited in connection with the house's reputation, although direct accounts of his presence are not part of the most-repeated guest folklore. With the property privately held since 2010, the mansion is not open to the public and these accounts cannot be investigated by visitors.
Notable Entities
View the 1890 Queen Anne Morey Mansion from Terracina Boulevard. The house is a private residence; do not enter the grounds. The exterior is a notable Inland Empire landmark featuring nautical carvings reflecting builder David Morey's earlier career as a shipbuilder.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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