The Innovative Mrs. Winchester

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Mrs. Winchester gradually developed her skill in building, just as she had done with music and language in her youth. She often used the most current innovations in her home.

• Some historical sources say that Mrs. Winchester was the first to use wool for insulation.
• Carbide gas lights in the house were fed by the estate’s own gas manufacturing plant, which used a new process. The gas lights were operated by pushing an electric button.
• A specially designed window catch was patterned after a Winchester rifle trigger and trip hammer.
• An inside crank used to open and close outside window shutters eventually became the popular norm.
• One rumor held that Mrs. Winchester patented her one-piece porcelain laundry basin, which boasted a molded-in soap tray and washboard. No record of this patent has been found, however.
• Window drip pans and zinc subfloor were installed in the North Conservatory so that when the plants were watered, the run off would be captured and directed by a series of drainpipes to the garden below.
• The Servant Call System, or "annunciator," allowed Mrs. Winchester to summon a servant from anywhere in the house. A card would drop showing the servant which room she was in so she could easily be found.
• Most of the mansion’s forty-seven fireplaces had hinged iron drops for removing the ashes.
• Brass cornerplates were installed on stairways to make it easier to clean the steps.