Any longtime resident of Watsonville would know the Tuttle Mansion. The large, red Victorian home is located on East Lake Avenue, sitting in the same spot it was constructed back in 1899.
The house was originally the residence of Morris B. Tuttle, whose family moved to California from Iowa in 1873 with his family who were farmers. Tuttle hired famous architect William Weeks, who created several other notable houses in the Pajaro Valley, to design the home. In 1880 Morris Tuttle married Mary Ingles and in 1892 bought 30 acres outside of Watsonville.
Over the years, the mansion has served as an apartment complex and been the home to several different businesses. The current owners’ parents bought the house in 1974.
Kathy and Jennifer Oliver, twin sisters who now run Oliver Property Management and an antique toy business from different sections of the house, are eager to share this unique house’s history with visitors.
The Tuttle’s were well-to-do and powerful in the community, but their family history, including at the house itself, is plagued with many bizarre and tragic events. A murder in the carriage house, a murder-suicide in one of the bedrooms, a boy falling down the property’s well to his death and various other incidents all lend many to believe the house has become a spiritual portal.
The Dead Do Tell Tales
Myself and Medium Cherie Pruitt investigated the mansion twice in 2024. Cherie and I have collectively contributed to Warner Brothers/Discovery, Ghost Adventures TV series, Travel Channel, several radio and pod cast shows, and have contributed stories to published authors for our paranormal work. We are currently working on a documentary film project with one of the producers from the movie “The Conjuring,”
Alice's Story
In the mansion’s conference room, Cherie and I felt the presence of a young woman from the 1930’s/40’s, who gave the impression of sadness of a lost love or the love for a man she could never have. The woman would not show her face, which was not fully understood until after the investigation. Cherie characterized the woman as unhappy and stuck in a situation she did not have control over. She was staring off into the distance, never showing her face, as if she was waiting for her true love to arrive, but it was never to be as her life ended tragically. And in an instant, she was gone after telling her brief story.
In the photo above is a still shot of the SLS camera (Structured Light Sensor) depicting Cherie communicating with a spirit, who we now believe to be Alice. Cherie is depicted in red with a stick figure inside the red shadow. To your right is another stick figure without a shadow. That figure is believed to be Alice. The SLS cam is a resource for us to confirm that Cherie was communicating with a spirit.
After the investigation, Kathy Oliver divulged that the woman was possibly Alice Tuttle, the daughter of Owen Tuttle. Owen was the brother of Morris Tuttle. Alice was killed in a tragic hunting incident away from the mansion property. According to Kathy, Alice was hunting with her husband, when a rifle fell off the truck and accidently firing, shooting Alice’s face, killing her. It was believed that Alice was not happy with the man she married. Kathy explained that the woman probably did not want to show her face because of the fatal gunshot wound to the face.
The Hauntings Continue...
Prior to the mansion investigation Cherie and I had no prior knowledge of the paranormal activities or the tragic history of some of the deaths inside and outside the mansion. Kathy Oliver, who attended the investigation revealed information after the investigation was completed.
Many other spirits roam the hallways and rooms of the Tuttle Mansion, some waiting for their story to be heard, while others walk the halls endlessly haunting the storied mansion.
Until next time on Haunted Foodie Traveler.
Sources:
Oliver Property Management
Kathy Oliver
Historypin.com
Pajaronian newspaper: Johanna Miller, 2017
