HGB Ep. 587 - McCune Mansion

Moment in Oddity - Discovery of the Endurance

Shipwrecks can be a fascinating place to explore for divers. They can become amazing reefs, teaming with sea life creating their own unique ecosystem. But when a shipwreck occurs in the coldest ocean region of the world, the effects of time can sometimes surprise you. In February of 2022, a large-scale international scientific expedition set out from Cape Town, Africa. The journey would take the scientists to Antarctica in pursuit of finding the Endurance. The Endurance was a three masted barkentine ship owned by Sir Ernest Shackleton. The vessel was built for navigating through 'pack ice' conditions and was to be used from 1914-1917. The journey that Shackleton sought to accomplish was to travel across Antarctica from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans. In 1915, the Endurance became trapped in ice and was ultimately crushed in the Weddell Sea. Despite the tragedy of losing the ship, all 28 crew members survived. One hundred and seven years later, scientists set out to locate the wreckage. Underwater robots, helicopters and advanced technology were used. At the time of the sinking, the ship's captain, Frank Worsley, used a sextant and a theodolite to identify the spot where the ship went down and the captain recorded it in his journal. This provided the scientists a good starting point to focus their search. When the wreckage of the Endurance was found the ship was in amazing condition. The vessel was found upright and not buried or overturned as expected and the ship was well preserved. The name 'Endurance' was still legible on many parts of the ship including the stern, railings, steering wheel, ropes and some of the ship's original supplies. Although some sea life had called the wreckage of the Endurance home, the fact that it was found, so well preserved, certainly is odd.

This Month in History - The First Kentucky Derby

In the month of May, on the 17th, in 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was held at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. At the time, the racing location was known as the Louisville Jockey Club. The inaugural event took place in front of an estimated 10,000 spectators. The distance run was 1.5 miles and the field of 15 horses consisted of 3 year olds. Of the 15 jockeys, 13 were African American and the winning jockey was Oliver Lewis. His mount, a three year old chestnut colt named Aristides, was trained by future Hall of Famer, Ansel Williamson. Aristides' portion of the $3,050 purse was $2,850 with $200 going to the second place winner, Volcano. The Kentucky Derby is the oldest continuously held horse race in the United States. It became the third race added to what is now known as the Triple Crown. The order of the races are as follows: The Kentucky Derby is the first race, with the Preakness Stakes being run 2 weeks later and finally the Belmont Stakes 3 weeks after that. The Kentucky Derby has become a celebrated American tradition, known for its rich history, exciting races, outrageous hats, and of course, its signature drink, the Mint Julep.

McCune Mansion (Suggested by: Derrick Hughes) 

The McCune Mansion sits perched atop a hill on Main Street in Salt Lake City, Utah. This splendid Victorian is unique both outside and inside. The interior features exotic materials from around the world. The home has not only been privately owned, but served as a dance studio, art gallery, office space and now wedding venue. And what would a Victorian mansion be without some ghosts stories? Join us as we share the history and hauntings of the McCune Mansion.

Mormon pioneers founded Salt Lake City in 1847. The religious group was seeking religious freedom and Brigham Young found that for them in the West. The city would serve as territorial capitol and then the state capital of Utah. But long before that the Shoshone, Goshute, Ute and Paiute set up their seasonal camps in the valley near the Great Salt Lake that the Goshute called Pi'a-pa, meaning "big water." The land was never considered owned by any indigenous groups, so none of them received anything when settlers arrived. About a year before the Mormons pioneers arrived, the Donner Party passed through the valley. Those first years weren't easy for the Latter Day Saints, but things got far better with the California Gold Rush. Many people came to the town on their way to seeking their fortunes. Here in Salt Lake City they bought farm goods and livestock, along with clothing and supplies. The city would later experience tensions between the LDS and the United States government and non-LDS residents. Those would ease in the early 1900s, but the Great Depression and World Wars would also take a toll. After the wars, Salt Lake City grew rapidly. Today, the city is not only the capitol of a major religion, but a successful secular metropolis. 

Alfred W. McCune was born in 1849 in Calcutta, India at the British Fort William. His father was a member of the British Army and he and his wife would have seven sons and one daughter all born at the Fort. Unfortunately, three of the boys and their daughter would all die as children. In 1851, the McCunes invited two sailors to a church meeting in their home and by the time the sailors left, the McCune family had converted from Plymouth Brethren Christians to Mormonism. After that, Alfred's parents became Mormon missionaries. The McCunes emigrated to New York City in 1857. The family then proceeded to Chicago via train and then by wagon to Salt Lake City. McCune's father added two more wives to the family and had another 15 children.

Alfred was a hard worker and started as a stock herder and then moved on to being a laborer for the Union Pacific Railroad. It was through the railroad that Alfred began to build his wealth. As the Utah Southern Railroad was building a rail line through the southern part of Utah, Alfred supplied the workers with provisions. He partnered with two other men and they built the Utah Southern Railroad Extension and they founded a general store in the town of Milton. By 1881, McCune had also opened a huge cattle and horse ranch in southern Utah. In 1872, he married Elizabeth Claridge whose family had emigrated to the US in 1853. The couple would have nine children. McCune's interest in the railroads and general stores extended into Montana and Oregon and the family moved to Montana in 1885. In 1888, they moved to Salt Lake City and McCune purchased interest in the streetcar system. Under his guidance, the streetcar went from mule-drawn to electric. But he wasn't done there. Eventually he took over the Salt Lake Herald and the became a part-owner of the Utah Power Company. His expertise in the railroad would lead him to building railroads and mines in Peru through the latter part of his life with partners like J.P. Morgan, William Randolph Hearst and Frederick Vanderbilt. So this was a really successful man who came from very humble beginnings.

In 1900, the McCunes decided to build their mansion. The McCunes wanted their house up on a hill so they had a view of the city and the LDS Temple. Both Alfred and Elizabeth had diverse tastes and they had toured Britain, so when it came to designing a home they wanted to explore a variety of styles. They sent the architect they had chosen, S.C. Dallas, on a two year tour of America and Europe to study different techniques. In the end, the design was Gothic Revival with East Asian influence and the exterior was Shingle Style. The exterior was made from Red Butte Canyon Sandstone and featured a conical turret and oval portico. And they spared no expense with the interior of the house. Material was brought in from literally everywhere in the world. There was mahogany from San Domingo, red roof tiles from the Netherlands, oak from England, onyx from Utah and a rare white-grained mahogany from South Africa. An enormous broad mirror wall was transported from Germany and other walls were covered in Russian Leather, moiré (mwah) silks and French tapestries. The fireplaces were made from Nubian marble.

When the house was finished the following year - at a cost of $1 million - it had running water, 21 rooms and three floors. The first floor had an octagonal reception room with embossed figures on the ceiling, a large dining room, a sitting room, a main hall with an exquisite fireplace and mantle, tea room and drawing room. There was also a hidden room under the grand staircase where musicians would play music for parties. The second floor had bedrooms and a glorious central hall with stairs leading up to what is today a board room. The third floor's two ballrooms are something to behold with their marble columns and plush round sofas, arched openings, painted ceilings and gold colored accents everywhere. There are huge mirrors, balconies and alcoves. Several types of woods were used. A German craftsman spent 8 months making the furnishings from an artificial marble. The third floor also has what is called a "Hunting Room" that was styled in English Renaissance and based on Haddon Hall in England. The walls have woodland and hunting scenes painted on them. 

The mansion was perfectly designed for parties and the McCunes loved to host them. Elizabeth enjoyed entertaining friends. Alfred would have political allies come to the house for meetings in the dining room. Special occasions were observed, particularly holidays. The couple raised their family for the twenty years they lived in the house and then they decided to move further West, all the way to Los Angeles. Rather than sell their dream home, they decided to donate it to the LDS Church. The Church accepted the gift and planned to give it to the church president, Heber J. Grant, to use as a personal residence. Grant wasn't crazy about the idea because the place was just too ornate for him. The cleaning alone - lol! The Chruch decided to open the LDS School of Music in the mansion. The name changed in 1924 to the McCune School of Music and Art. The school offered junior college-level courses in music and dance and was accredited by the the National Association of Schools of Music. The administration of the school decided to expand and refocus in 1942 and the music school became a preparatory school for junior high and high school students. Brigham Young University absorbed the school as a branch in 1952. The problem with that is that BYU couldn't get it accredited, so the University let it go. By 1957, the school had been closed by the Church Board of Education. 

The LDS Church held onto the house until 1972 when they sold it and it reopened as Virginia Tanner Modern Dance School. Virginia Tanner was known as America's Children's Dance Teacher. Her parents started her in ballet early, but she didn't like the formal dance. She was a free spirit and her father encouraged her freestyle dance. Her mother made her black bloomers, so that her movement was free. Virginia studied dance with many famous teachers and she taught for Doris Humphrey in New York. When she returned home to Salt Lake City in the 1940s, she directed the dance department at the McCune School of Music and Art. She organized the Children's Dance Theater in 1949. Tanner became well known and was invited to conduct workshops on children's dance throughout the country and in the 1970s, the National Endowment for the Arts asked her to direct a pilot program for children's dance in school districts in five states. Tanner had a rare gift for teaching and inspiring children with dance. She passed away in 1979. At the school in the mansion, the girls wore white Ginny dresses, which basically were like the dress Wendy from Peter Pan wore. The skirt flowed making them perfect for dance.

Through all of this, the house wasn't refurbished and it was deteriorating. The school moved out in the 1990s and Philip McCarthey bought it in 1999. He was a shareholder of the Kearns-Tribune Corp., which published The Salt Lake Tribune. McCarthey got several family members to partner with him and they set to renovating the mansion. They had plans to open a wedding and reception venue and they did just that in 2001 and that is what it remains today. A carriage house on the property had been designed by architect Henry Monheim and built for Judge R. N. Baskin in 1872 to go with his mansion. Baskin's mansion was razed when the McCune's built their mansion. It was remodeled in 1926 and used as a Mormon meeting house. It was refurbished with the mansion by McCarthey.

Ghost stories have been told about the house ever since the McCune family moved out. That room under the stairs that once hosted music orchestration still has the sounds of musical instruments coming from it on occasion. And there are people who claimed that shortly after the music school moved in, music was heard coming from the house in general at times when classes weren't in session and no one was in the mansion. Furniture moves around on its own as do other objects. The lights turn on and off on their own. Doors unlock themselves and disembodied voices are heard. It is believed that there are two specific spirits here. The first belongs to Alfred McCune. He is seen as a full-bodied apparition wearing a long black coat and sometimes a cape. It seems strange that Alfred would come back to a house that the family had left in 1920, but maybe he just was really attached to it.

The other spirit belongs to a young girl and no one is sure who she is. We checked the death records on the McCune's three daughters and they all lived into adulthood with all of them passing in the 1960s. The little girl is said to resemble a portrait hanging in the house, which makes us wonder if she is attached to the portrait. Mirrors are really her thing and this house is full of them. People have claimed to see her walking in and out of a mirror in the western part of the mansion. Her full-bodied apparition has joined a few weddings and she is seen laughing and dancing. And she has appeared in a couple of wedding photos. A little ghost bomb if you will. Her footprints have also been seen in several rooms. They will just start or end in the middle of the room.

An interesting story was told by the McCarthey family. They were celebrating Christmas in the mansion shortly after they bought it. This was the first time that Christmas had been celebrated in the house since the McCunes moved out in 1920. Somebody from the McCune family might have been excited about this because the ballroom lights kept popping on and off. The McCartheys called an electrician in a few days later because they figured something was wrong with the wiring. The electrician found nothing wrong and he told the family that there was a light switch two floors down and maybe someone had been playing with it. The problem was that the family had no idea about the switch.

McCarthey told KSL.com that during renovations, an electrician told him that he saw something in an enormous German mirror that is in the Drawing Room. "He was just getting ready to make sure that the electricity was OK, when a little girl came out of the mirror wearing white. She came out of the mirror, she looked to her left, looked to her right, decided everything was OK, and went back in the mirror. That electrician never came back here to work again." The Salt Lake Tribune also interviewed Phil and he told them that several times, he has turned off the lights and locked the house up tight and then gotten in his car, looked at the house one last time and then saw that the lights were on again. He also has sometimes been driving away from the mansion and watched the lights turn on and off in several rooms from the rearview mirror. One of his sons told him that he saw a calm, non-threatening man dressed in a black cape appear, the man watched him and then disappeared.

Story from "The Ghostly Tales of Salt Lake City" by Laurie Allen, Cassie Ashton, Nanette Guest-Watts and Kristen Clay. A woman lived across the street at the Kensington and one night she was outside on her balcony, talking to a friend on the phone and she saw a man on the stairs who started walking down the stairs and about halfway down, he just disappeared. She wouldn't go out on her balcony after that. A person on the ghost tour was taking pictures of the house and in one of the pictures in a second floor window on the left, there is a figure. No one was in the mansion at the time.    

On the last episode we talked about Masons. Well, Joseph Smith had a great interest in Masonic knowledge and it is said that the early Mormon pioneers followed the 42nd Parallel in the US to get to Utah. There are those who believe this is a ley line. On top of that, it is said that Brigham Young laid out Salt Lake City along ley lines. The Great Salt Lake is said to be a vortex. We don't know if any of that is true, but the McCune Mansion in Utah certainly seems to have some strange things going on inside of it. Is the McCune Mansion haunted? That is for you to decide!