Mount Dora's 1893 Queen Anne Victorian — built by the town's first mayor, owned by Masons since 1939, and open for ticketed paranormal investigations
435 Donnelly St, Mount Dora, FL 32757
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticketed paranormal investigation nights through Mount Dora Ghost Tours; see booking link for current pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Historic Victorian home; interior stairs; limited accessibility
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1893 · Home of Mount Dora's First Mayor · National Register of Historic Places 1975 · Queen Anne Steamboat Gothic Architecture by George Franklin Barber · Active Masonic Lodge Since 1939
John Philip Donnelly came to Mount Dora from Pittsburgh in 1879 and built the house on Donnelly Street that still carries his name in 1893. Designed by prolific catalog architect George Franklin Barber in the Queen Anne Steamboat Gothic style, the two-story structure with its prominent tower was the most imposing private residence in the community at the time of construction.
Donnelly built his wealth through real estate and several local business ventures. He married Annie McDonald Stone, described in period accounts as a prominent landholder in the community. In 1910, the year Mount Dora formally incorporated, Donnelly became the town's first mayor. Annie died in 1908; Donnelly donated land for a park named after her in 1924. He died in 1930.
Mount Dora Lodge No. 238, F.&A.M., acquired the property in 1939 and has operated it as a Masonic lodge ever since. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 4, 1975 (NRHP reference 75000560). In November 2021, Mount Dora Ghost Tours received permission to conduct paranormal baseline readings inside the house. By June 2022, the organization had begun offering ticketed investigation events for the public — making the Donnelly House one of very few active Masonic lodges in Florida open for public paranormal programming.
Sources
The paranormal reports from the Donnelly House cluster around the tower — the architectural feature that makes the building visually distinctive from the street. Multiple accounts describe an unidentified figure seen moving in the tower's interior, and one visitor reported watching a woman in Victorian-era dress walk through a solid wall in that space. The period clothing detail, offered independently by multiple witnesses, aligns with the home's 1890s-era history.
Other documented reports from investigations since 2021 include abrupt temperature drops in specific rooms, unexplained noises without obvious structural causes, and what investigators describe as full-body apparitions briefly visible in the main living areas. Ghost tour operators attribute the activity broadly to John and Annie Donnelly, both of whom lived and died in the house — Annie in 1908, John in 1930 — though no specific account has been definitively linked to either by name.
Mount Dora Ghost Tours obtained access to the interior in November 2021, conducted baseline readings, and began running ticketed investigation nights in June 2022. It is one of few active Masonic halls in Florida to permit commercial paranormal programming.
Notable Entities
Ticketed nighttime paranormal investigation inside the Donnelly House, operated by Mount Dora Ghost Tours (permission granted June 2022). Guests conduct baseline readings and investigations in the tower and main rooms using provided equipment. Contact 407-494-5655 or MountDoraGhostTours@gmail.com for scheduling.
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