Inside the 1890 House Museum: History, Tragedy, and Paranormal Claims in Cortland, NY

Before we ever set up a single piece of equipment, before the lights go down and the investigation begins, I need to know everything about a location — its history, its people, and the events that may have left a mark on the place. The 1890 House Museum in Cortland, New York is exactly the kind of location that demands that kind of respect. A stunning Victorian-era mansion built by the Wickwire family, this house carries more than a century of history within its walls — and, if the stories are to be believed, it may still carry a few of its former residents as well.

JV and I arrived at the 1890 House with the same mindset we bring to every location: prove it isn't haunted first. That's not cynicism — that's discipline. If you walk into an investigation already convinced something paranormal is happening, you've already compromised your results. What you find is only as credible as the process you used to find it. So before we touched a single piece of gear, we spent serious time learning about the house, the family who built it, and the specific history that has fueled decades of reported activity.

The house itself is remarkable. Built around 1890 by Chester Wickwire, a prominent and prosperous local businessman, the residence is a showcase of Victorian craftsmanship — intricate woodwork, grand architecture, and the kind of detail that tells you this was a man who wanted to make a statement. The Wickwire family was deeply woven into the fabric of Cortland, and this home was the physical expression of that prominence. Sitting down with the museum staff and hearing the history of the house firsthand, you begin to understand why a place like this captures people's imaginations. There's genuine weight here — historical, cultural, and personal. But what really caught my attention was the story of Chester Wickwire himself and the circumstances surrounding his death inside the home. That detail matters. In my experience, the locations with the most credible reported activity are often the ones where something genuinely significant — and often tragic — occurred within the physical space. It doesn't confirm a haunting, but it gives you a starting point worth investigating seriously.

The reported experiences at the 1890 House run the range you'd expect from a location with this kind of history and public profile. Staff and visitors have described unexplained sounds, the sense of being watched, and in some cases, more specific encounters that are harder to write off as suggestion or imagination. My job — and JV's — is to listen to those accounts carefully, identify the ones that are specific and consistent, and then try to find a rational explanation before we consider anything else. Drafts, settling architecture, acoustics, lighting conditions, the psychological effect of being alone in a grand old Victorian house — all of these things create experiences that feel paranormal and aren't. I've been doing this long enough to know that most of what gets reported can be explained. But I've also been doing this long enough to know that 'most' is not 'all.'

This video covers the pre-investigation phase — the history, the interview, and the groundwork that makes the actual investigation meaningful. Getting to know the 1890 House before we investigate it isn't just background research; it's the foundation of everything that comes next. The Wickwire family's story, Chester's death in the home, the architectural character of the building, the specific nature of the reports — all of it informs how we approach the investigation, where we position equipment, and what questions we're actually trying to answer. A haunted history is only as interesting as the investigation behind it, and a good investigation always starts exactly here: with the history.

I'm not ready to call the 1890 House haunted — not yet. What I can say is that this is a location with a genuine and layered history, credible reported experiences, and enough open questions to warrant a serious, rigorous investigation. The story of Chester Wickwire alone makes this one worth our full attention. Stay with us as the investigation unfolds.