HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
An 1889 Queen Anne mansion in Port Townsend built by contractor George Starrett as a wedding gift for his wife Ann, now operated as a bed and breakfast by Bayside Housing & Services, which also uses part of the property for workforce housing.
744 Clay St, Port Townsend, WA 98368
Research updated September 2026
Age
Overnight guests must be 12 or older
Cost
$$$
Operated as a bed and breakfast by Bayside Housing & Services, a nonprofit that acquired the property in August 2023; part of the building is also used for workforce housing.
Access
Limited Access
Three-story Queen Anne with a free-standing spiral staircase rising 70 feet to a dome; multiple flights of stairs and no elevator.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1889 · Contributing property to the Port Townsend Historic District (National Historic Landmark, 1977) · Considered one of the finest examples of Queen Anne / Stick Victorian residential architecture in Washington State · Built as a wedding gift in 1889 by builder George Starrett for his wife Ann
The Ann Starrett Mansion at 744 Clay Street was built in 1889 by builder and contractor George Starrett as a wedding gift for his wife, Ann. Starrett was one of Port Townsend's most active builders during the 1889 boom, the year Washington achieved statehood and the year speculative construction in Port Townsend reached its peak in anticipation of a transcontinental rail terminus that never materialized.
The mansion is a hybrid Queen Anne / Stick Victorian with eleven bedrooms and ten baths and is celebrated locally and architecturally for its centerpiece: a free-standing spiral staircase that rises approximately 70 feet from the ground floor to a domed ceiling decorated with frescoes of allegorical female figures, said to represent the four seasons and the four virtues.
The house is a contributing property within the Port Townsend Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
For much of the late 20th and early 21st century, the property operated as a bed and breakfast inn. Bayside Housing & Services, a nonprofit, acquired the Starrett House Bed & Breakfast in August 2023. The main floors continue to welcome overnight guests as a B&B, now known as The Starrett House, while basement rooms are being converted into workforce housing, primarily for employed women.
Sources
Local lore reported in the Peninsula Daily News and aggregated on Haunted Places and GhostQuest describes several recurring presences associated with the Ann Starrett Mansion. Owners and guests during the property's B&B years described apparitions identified as George and Ann Starrett, the original builder and his wife, as well as a gray-haired female figure that local accounts characterize as a former nanny of the household.
Additional accounts describe a red-haired woman in a white gown reported drifting through hallways and on the dramatic spiral staircase rising to the frescoed dome. One former owner, cited in the Peninsula Daily News, reported a shortwave radio that repeatedly turned itself on at 2 a.m. during their tenure.
These accounts predate Bayside Housing & Services' August 2023 acquisition of the property, and current activity reports under the nonprofit's ownership are not yet established.
The Starrett House operates as a bed and breakfast with overnight guest rooms; book directly to visit. Part of the building also supports Bayside Housing & Services' workforce-housing program, which is not open to visitors.
Notable Entities
Book an overnight stay at The Starrett House, the current operating name of the historic Ann Starrett Mansion, which currently offers five named second-floor guest rooms: The Starrett Suite Sunset King, The Nanny's Garden King, Ann's Parlor Sunrise Queen with Private Porch, The Drawing Room Sunrise King and The Nursery Sunset Queen.
See current room rates and availability at Ann Starrett Mansion.
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