Is Fresno's Kearney Park haunted?
Does the ghost of M. Theo Kearney haunt his former residence? - Photo courtesy of historicfresno.org
Several miles west of downtown Fresno, lies Kearney Park. The park was started in 1892 by M. Theo. Kearney and was to be part of a 225 acre agriculture complex. The current mansion was originally to be the caretakers quarters, unfortunately it and an adjacent servant's quarters were all that were built as Mr. Kearney died in 1906 and his dreams of an agricultural "Garden of Eden" were never completed.
Though Mr. Kearney died over one hundred years ago, there are rumors that he still walks his property at night, perhaps dismayed that his dream was never completed. There are also stories that a house maid, a Nora S., also wanders the darkened halls at night. Perhaps she feels she still needs to make sure the residence is kept in order for Mr. Kearney. Others have seen a man wandering around in the wooded area near the house. Others have felt as if someone from the house was watching them and once someone said they saw a female figure on the porch.
There is also an urban legend stating that a woman in white (some call her the White Witch) haunts the railroad tracks on the property and that anyone who is unfortunate enough to see her eyes, dies immediately. Personally, I find this highly unlikely as if she kills anyone who sees her, how can there be any witnesses to pass on this claim?
Still, Kearney Park is one of those Fresno treasures that most people know about, but may have never gone. The City of Fresno currently owns the Mansion and Park and you can tour the Mansion for a small fee. For further information on public tours of the Kearney Mansion, you can call 559-441-0862.
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the first time we went together, we heard drums, like a ceremonial native american drum. it was weird seeing as it wasn't really native american ground, I believe. so i just brushed it off as maybe someone was practicing a drum kit nearby. whatever
another time it got creepy. it was Halloween. he and I with a group of girls. we went and he and his girlfriend went on the east side of the property by the gate and in between the trees and they both said they seen footprints behind me. But I didn't believe them. later that night we made 2 trips to the mansion itself through the backside of the park. theres a spot you can park your car. and you have to get out because it's closed off. so we left the car there. on one of the trips to the house we seen a shadowy circluar object emanate from the house to the lamp post just outside, maybe 10 or 15 feet away from the house itself. this object had to have been at least 4-6 feet across. it moved fast. it went from the house to the light pole. and back to the house and right in between the light and the house it stopped. then returned and disappeared.
during the second trip we didn't see anything. so as we walked back to leave the park. there was this giant oil tanker i believe, it was huge and it just sat there probably for storage. but without a gust of wind or anything. it sounded like a car wrecked into it because it was loud. after it happened the tanker began to hiss as if it contained some sort of gas or something. so we proceeded back to the car and left.
never been there since.
A few years later we participated in another Civil War reenactment there. I had awoken early, approx. 2:00 a.m. or so, and felt a need to stretch my legs. As I was standing outside our camp I distinctly heard leaves and branches crunching underfoot as someone walked up behind me. I assumed it was one of my friends, but when I turned to speak to him no one was there.
, no one was there. As she told us this, she showed the hairs standing up on her arms.
Soon after this, I became a teenage volunteer & was very friendly with the head of the Historical Society then, Daniel Pollard. He told me of his own eerie experience in the guest room on the opposite side of the hall from Kearney's bedroom. It was when the house was being prepared to open as a museum, I believe in the early 60's. He was vacuuming the carpet on a warm Summer evening, and the carpet began to undulate as though a strong wind was moving it. He found it frightening.
I was impressed enough by these stories to write a letter to Hans Holzer, prolific author of books on hauntings. Holzer replied and said he would like to come visit next time he was in California, but Dan Pollard was uneasy about negative attention and refused Holzer's request.
Years later, I am still good friends with a later president of the Historical Society, Jill Moffatt, and she said she'd never heard any of these stories - so clearly Pollard and the woman volunteer did not share their experiences with many people. It's thus not surprising that Historical Society members today deny or dismiss the idea that there is a history of paranormal activity at the house.