An 1890 Queen Anne mansion in Bellingham's Fairhaven neighborhood built by mining speculator James F. Wardner, occupied just one year before he left for South Africa — haunted by legend of a mural whose young artist died the day after completing it.
1103 15th St, Bellingham, WA 98225
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Privately owned; exterior viewable from the street only. No public interior access at present.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Residential sidewalk on 15th Street in the Fairhaven neighborhood.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1890 · Designed by Kirtland K. Cutter alongside local architects Longstaff and Black · Built 1890 for mining speculator James F. Wardner (1846-1905) · Wardner occupied it one year before the 1891 Fairhaven real estate collapse · 23-room Queen Anne mansion with turret, stained glass, and solarium · Added to National Register of Historic Places 1988
James F. Wardner (1846-1905) was a Milwaukee-born entrepreneur who had made money in silver and lead mining in Idaho — the town of Wardner, Idaho bears his name — before turning his attention to the Puget Sound. Arriving in Fairhaven in 1889 at the invitation of investor Nelson Bennett, he purchased 135 lots and established businesses including a waterworks company, a logging operation, an electric light company, and a bank. His ventures generated approximately $60,000 in profit within two months.
On the strength of these returns, Wardner commissioned Spokane architect Kirtland K. Cutter — alongside local architects Longstaff and Black — to design a showpiece residence. Construction began in 1890; the completed structure is a three-story Queen Anne wooden mansion of 23 rooms, featuring seven bedrooms, seven fireplaces with carved wood mantels, a three-story turret, a library and solarium, stained glass windows on the staircase, and a porte-cochere.
Wardner occupied the house for only one year. The 1891 failure of the Fairhaven real estate boom — caused directly by the Great Northern Railroad choosing a different terminus, bypassing the town — collapsed his investments. Wardner sold most of his Fairhaven holdings to Montana investor Peter Larson and departed for South Africa to pursue new mining ventures. He never returned to Bellingham, dying in 1905.
The property passed through various uses: private residence, restaurant (1947-1955), a period as a museum (1983-1986), and bed-and-breakfast operation through the 2000s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and remains privately owned.
Sources
The haunting at Wardner's Castle is tied to a specific and verifiable event: the death of artist Laurie Ann Gospodinovich on November 5, 1984, at age 24. According to WhatcomTalk's 2022 investigation, the Harriman family — who operated Castle's Bed and Breakfast at the property during the 1980s — commissioned Gospodinovich to create a mural on the castle's third floor. The completed work depicted James Wardner, the castle, Fairhaven landmarks, and several black cats, with the artist herself appearing among the figures in a foggy, moonlit setting.
Find a Grave confirms Gospodinovich's death in 1984. According to local tradition documented by Bellingham Observers of the Odd and Obscure (BOOO) and reported in WhatcomTalk, she died in a car accident on the day after finishing the mural — the timing giving the story its eerie character.
Following her death, guests at the bed-and-breakfast began reporting apparitions in their rooms and waking from disturbing dreams. The accounts persisted under multiple ownership configurations. At some point, a subsequent owner painted over the mural with white paint. The unusual occurrences reportedly continued until an owner had the white paint stripped specifically from the section depicting Gospodinovich's face, at which point the reports ceased.
The mural is no longer visible in its original form. The castle remains privately owned; the story circulates primarily through the Fairhaven Ghost Tour and local coverage. The WhatcomTalk investigation is the most substantive published account of the Gospodinovich connection.
Notable Entities
The three-story Queen Anne mansion is visible from the public sidewalk on 15th Street in the Fairhaven neighborhood. The Bellingham Ghost Tours' Fairhaven Ghost Tour also covers the castle's story as part of their walking tour route.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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