HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
The FBI fired between 700 and 2,000 rounds into this two-story cracker house in January 1935 — the bullet holes are still in the furniture
13279 SE 115th Ave, Ocklawaha, FL 32179
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Tours by appointment; contact Marion County Parks at (352) 671-8560 for scheduling and current pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Recreation area grounds; the house is a relocated two-story structure with stairs
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1930 · Site of FBI's Longest Gun Battle — January 16, 1935 · Deaths of Ma Barker (Kate Barker) and Fred Barker · Original Bullet-Riddled Furniture Preserved · House Relocated by Pontoon 2016
Carson Bradford purchased the lakefront property on Lake Weir in 1892. The two-story Florida cracker-style house that stands today was built around 1930 — four bedrooms, two baths, 2,100 square feet, the kind of modest wood-frame structure common to rural Marion County. The Bradfords rented it to a family calling themselves the Hendersons in late 1934.
The tenants were not the Hendersons. On the morning of January 16, 1935, a large contingent of FBI agents under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover's bureau surrounded the house. Inside were Kate Barker — known as Ma Barker — age 63, and her son Fred. The Barker-Karpis gang had been operating across the Midwest since the late 1920s; their crimes included bank robberies and kidnappings totaling an estimated $2 million and at least ten deaths, among them a law enforcement officer.
The siege lasted between four and six hours depending on the account. Agents fired an estimated 700 to 2,000 rounds into the structure; the FBI has categorized this as the longest gun battle in its history. Both Ma Barker and Fred were found dead in an upstairs bedroom when agents finally entered. The bullet damage to the walls, floors, and original furniture was never repaired and remains visible to visitors today.
In 2016, the house faced demolition when the lakefront property was sold for private development. Marion County volunteers and preservation advocates floated the structure across Lake Weir on pontoons, moved it to Carney Island Recreation and Conservation Area (county-owned land), and undertook restoration to its 1930s appearance. The house opened for tours by appointment through Marion County Parks. A commemorative plaque was unveiled at the site in January 2025, ninety years after the shootout.
Sources
The haunt stories attached to the Ma Barker House are post-relocation phenomena. Before the 2016 move, the original lakefront site generated minimal ghost lore; the building was simply a place where something terrible happened. After the structure was floated to Carney Island and stabilized, volunteers working on the restoration and visitors touring the finished museum began reporting experiences they could not explain: cold spots in rooms where no drafts were present, phantom footsteps on the stairs and upper floor, and a persistent uneasy feeling in the bedroom where Ma Barker and Fred were found dead.
Visitor and staff accounts describe a heavy female figure, stocky and with her hair pinned up, glimpsed briefly in peripheral vision. The detail is consistent enough across independent reports to be notable, and consistent with Kate Barker's documented appearance in FBI photographs. The ghost lore frames her as displeased with the move — the house was uprooted from the property where she died — rather than as a benign presence.
No formal paranormal investigation has been published for the relocated structure. The Marion County Parks staff manages tours primarily as historical experiences focused on the 1935 shootout and the preservation effort.
Notable Entities
Appointment-only guided tour of the two-story cracker house where Ma Barker and her son Fred died in the FBI's longest gun battle on January 16, 1935. Original bullet-riddled furniture and walls are on display. The house was floated across Lake Weir on pontoons in 2016 to its current location at Carney Island Recreation Area. Submit a reservation request through the website; a staff representative will confirm availability.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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