Oliver House

Oliver House

26 Sowles Ave, Bisbee, AZ 85603

Today, the Oliver House in Bisbee, Arizona serves as a bed and breakfast to guests of all kinds. In 1909, it was built to accommodate Calumet & Arizona Mining Company executives. Mining tycoon Henry Oliver's wife Edith Ann Oliver oversaw the construction of the 12 room red brick structure in 1908. Since then, it has been a residence, boarding house, and a business office. The building may have a pleasant appearance but also a violent past. There have been allegedly 27 deaths (mostly murders) on the property. The actual number can not be verified due to fires destroying historical records. Located at 126 All Souls Avenue, perched atop a concrete hill in Old Bisbee is where you will find the Oliver House. This red brick structure currently functions as a bed and breakfast to guests of all kinds including some who are no longer among the living. In fact, despite the cheerful appearance of the building and its premier location for bird watching, the building has an ominous feeling and a violent past. Oliver House Bridge The narrow bridge which you must traverse to get to the Oliver House from the top of the Eliza Thurston Memorial Parking Grounds. Oliver House was conceived as a business office and boarding house for the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company's executives and, later, the miners. The wife of mining tycoon Henry Oliver, Edith Ann Oliver, oversaw the construction of the building in 1908. Mrs. Oliver had the building made from brick due to the frequency of fires in Bisbee. (Several Bisbee historical records have been destroyed in fires that have torn through the town.) The property was sold in 1986 to Dennis Schranz and made into a bed and breakfast. When he was told the place was haunted, Schranz, then a skeptic, laughed off the comments. Schranz hasn't been a skeptic since his first night in Oliver House. From its hilltop perch in the mountainside mining town, Oliver House is somewhat secluded, even though it is centrally located in Old Bisbee. The only way to approach the building is by treading a narrow footbridge, traveling through a creepy gate, and along a short pathway to the front porch. If this does not give you an eerie vibe, then the building's violent past will. Oliver House is the location of some reputed twenty-six deaths, most of which are said to be murders. Unfortunately, the actual number of deaths that have occurred in this building cannot be completely verified due to the loss of records due to neglect or fire. However, one of the most mysterious of those deaths, a death that can be verified, is that of Nathaniel Nat Anderson. The story locals like to tell says that Nat Anderson, a miner, was staying in what's now known as Room 13 of the Oliver House. Nat was also having an affair and the woman with whom he was having the affair with was the wife of someone Nat owed money. According to the story, Nat's moneylender discovered the affair and went to confront Nat with the business end of a pistol. Nat was found shot in the back and in his forehead at the top of the stairs, outside the door to his room on February 22, 1920. Despite the belief that it was the moneylender who had killed poor Nat, the murder remains unsolved. Perhaps this is why Nat Anderson is still said to haunt Room 13 of the Oliver House? Death Certificate for a Nat Anderson. Died February 22, 1920. The cause of death is listed as gunshot wound (pistol) in fore head. For more information about the hotel please visit www.oliverhousebedandbreakfast.com.