1829 Stone Mansion of a War of 1812 Sea Captain, Freedom, Pennsylvania
1235 3rd Ave, Freedom, PA 15042
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Open to the public via the Beaver County Historical Research & Landmarks Foundation.
Access
Limited Access
Two-story 1829 stone mansion on a knoll above the Ohio River.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1829 · War of 1812 naval captain residence · Early-19th-century western Pennsylvania stone masonry · Abolitionist Society membership · National Register of Historic Places
The Captain William Vicary Mansion was completed in 1829 on a knoll overlooking the Ohio River in what is today Freedom, Pennsylvania. According to Wikipedia and the Beaver County Historical Research & Landmarks Foundation, Captain Vicary purchased 604 acres from Mark Wilcox in February 1826 and built the home at a reported cost of over $4,000.
Vicary was a Philadelphia merchant sea captain who commanded U.S. naval vessels during the War of 1812. After his maritime career he became a former president of the Columbia Bridge Company, a member of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society, and a land speculator and farmer in western Pennsylvania. The exterior stonework of the mansion is documented in the Foundation's records as exceptional for early-19th-century Western Pennsylvania, with stone blocks worked at a finish quality more typical of eastern coastal masonry traditions.
The Vicary Mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 18, 1974. Beaver County acquired the property in the mid-1970s. Today the mansion serves as the home of the Beaver County Historical Research & Landmarks Foundation and is open to the public for tours and events. The site is also referenced by Uncovering PA and the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall museum-spotlight programming.
Sources
Folklore associated with the Vicary Mansion is summarized by the History Goes Bump podcast and the Social Voice Project's Vicary Mansion and Legends of Beaver County. According to those sources, local tradition centers on Captain William Vicary as the principal spectral presence, with reports including chandeliers said to swing of their own accord, lights flickering, and disembodied voices and whispers heard in the upstairs rooms. Some reports suggest more than one presence and describe the activity as residual rather than interactive.
The Beaver County Historical Research & Landmarks Foundation, which now occupies the mansion, has stated publicly that it does not assert the property is haunted. The folklore therefore circulates principally through regional ghost-story media rather than as a part of the foundation's official interpretation.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Tour the 1829 stone mansion of Captain William Vicary, a War of 1812 naval captain, Philadelphia merchant, and Abolitionist Society member. The mansion is the headquarters of the Beaver County Historical Research & Landmarks Foundation.
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