Drury Mansion

Drury Mansion paranormal

Photo by: danthemann5 on Flickr
Location submitted by: sdonley on 02/14/2015
DBA Approved: Y

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PANICd#: 1340

8615 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland , OH 44106
Open to the public: No

Lat: 41.503927
Lon: -81.62653799999998

Database Summary:

Demographic Rank: 4
History: 1
Stories: 3
Claims: 5
Evidence: 0
Resources: 4
Retrievals: 6060
Vistor Rating: 0.0
Votes: 0

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History

History information is some background and history about the location. This is meant to be a basic summary. Below the history records you will find sources in which you can click on to find out more information. There may be multiple history records per location.

The son of Dewitt and Sarah Dimmick Drury, Francis Edson Drury was born on August 20, 1850, in Pittsfield, Michigan. After receiving a public-school education, he entered the hardware business where he invented the first internal gear lawnmower. Drury moved to Cleveland in 1870 and worked with the Taylor and Boggis Foundry Company to manufacture his mowers. In addition, and some years later, he partnered with H.P. (Henry Parsons) of Chicago to start the Cleveland Foundry Company, which built oil heating and cooking stoves.

Drury served as vice president, president, and general manager of the Taylor and Boggis Company, also known as T&B Foundry Company. On March 31, 1906, a fire destroyed not only the Taylor & Boggis Company but also the H.C. Tack Company, resulting in a $20,000 loss. The Tack Company suffered more damage because it was primarily a wood-frame building, unlike the mostly brick T&B building. Several months after the death of Robert H. Boggis, T&B's president, on June 10, 1911, from complications of pneumonia, the company purchased a large plot of land near East 55th Street and the old Erie tracks where it planned to build a new foundry and power plant. This land was previously owned by the Schofield-Schurmer-Teagle Company, which was (at the time) an oil plant. The buildings would be built of the most up-to-date machinery and in a modern style.

Because of the enormous success he had on his inventions, Drury built one of the last remaining homes on Euclid Avenue at East 87th Street. This mansion, composed of 34 rooms and 25,000 square feet, is located at 8615 Euclid Avenue. Drury, his wife Julia and their son lived at this location for twelve years. In 1924, however, Drury felt it was time to live in a more pastoral setting. As a result, in 1925 the Drurys decided to follow the route many of their neighbors took--relocating to an affluent eastern suburb. They bought the 155-acre Cedar Hill Farm in Gates Mills, Ohio, and built an almost exact duplicate of their home but nearly 1.5 times its size. Today, the mansion, also known as the Tudor House, is on the campus of Gilmour Academy.

The new Drury home, situated near the corner of Cedar and S.O.M. Center Roads, has 41 rooms and 14 fireplaces (each made with marble from a different country), and each of its major rooms (i.e. master bathroom, kitchen, master bedroom) is finished with a different type of wood. When the Drurys lived there, the property also contained seventeen different buildings, including a creamery, vegetable-cleaning building, and toolshed. Almost five acres were greenhouses that grew not only vegetables but flowers as well. The surprising thing to note is that Drury and his wife lived on this property for only a year. Francis E. Drury passed away on April 3, 1932, and his wife, Julia, died 11 years later on April 16, 1943.

After Drury and his wife left their original home on Euclid Avenue, it was closed off to the public until the Drury Club acquired it on June 11, 1939. The Cleveland Plain Dealer described the home as a fine example of 17th-century-style architecture. Up to this point in time, forty carefully chosen men and women spent most of their Saturday nights here enjoying dinner and a bit of dancing with their guests. The Drury Club later became a home for elderly residents from 1946 until the sale in 1989 to the Cleveland Clinic, which used it for meeting and event space. Today, the home remains in much the same condition as when the Drurys left it in 1924.

Added by: sdonley on 01/16/2018 DB#:358
Source(s):
https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/822

Stories

Stories are just that. Stories and personal accounts that have been reported about the location.

A couple of years ago, I was giving a Cleveland Storyteller presentation at the Drury Mansion on Euclid Avenue, one of the four Millionaire's Row mansions that is still standing. With 52 rooms and walls of remarkable wood detail, the mansion's sheer size and splendor took us all back into time. I was speaking with my back to the grand fireplace, entertaining a crowd that had gathered to hear about Francis Drury and his wife, Julia.

When I spoke Julia Drury's name, the lights over the fireplace flickered quickly-intentionally. The simple mention of her name triggered an obvious sign of her presence. I halted; the audience gasped.

Our eyes darted around the room. My wife described Julia's appearance with stunning accuracy, and she had never seen a picture of Mrs. Drury before.

The following Monday I returned to the Drury Mansion to return some photographs to the mansion curator. Again, I mentioned Julia Drury's name while standing in the living room with the man. And, again, the lights flickered fast-on and off, on and off.

The ghost of Julia Drury was letting us know we were in her company.

My personal experiences with the ghost of Julia Drury match the incidences others have shared about seeing her, talking with her, noticing her signs. Some have witnessed the ghost at the Drury Mansion on Euclid Avenue, and others have spotted her at Gilmour Academy, which was formerly the Drury's property and Cedar Hill Farm.

Added by: sdonley on 01/16/2018 DB#:1349
Source(s):
http://www.clevelandstoryteller.com/blog/2017/05/i...

Cleveland's Drury Mansion has been the site of ghostly happenings almost from the time it was built in 1912, a vast, 52-room building with a broad main staircase, mazelike corridors, and even a tunnel that runs under Euclid Avenue to the Drury Theater. It was built by local businessman Francis Drury for his family. Later it was donated to the Ohio Adult Parole Authority as a halfway house for convicts.

Doors and windows open and close mysteriously in the Drury House; people claim to have felt the presence of other people, but of course no one is ever there. In 1978 a counselor actually saw a ghost, a woman in old-fashioned dress with her hair in a knot, standing at the top of the house. Another, younger woman with long dark hair makes appearances in a flowing gown, only to disappear in a burst of flame.

A possible explanation for the hauntings at the Drury Mansion lies in the May 15, 1929 fire at the Cleveland Clinic. A steam leak led to several explosions (one of which blew the roof off) and killed 123 patients and hospital staff members. A large percentage of the deaths came from a weird yellowish smoke which enveloped the building--the result of burning nitrocellulose x-ray film. The tragedy led to reforms in the way x-rays are processed, and has caused ghost stories to be told up and down the block ever since, and the Drury house can be found in close proximity to the Cleveland Clinic.

At any rate, the specters continue to plague this massive building. Tradition has it that, when the building was first abandoned, two cops were stationed there to deter trespassers. They spent the night back-to-back with their guns drawn, terrified of the things they saw and heard.

Added by: sdonley on 01/16/2018 DB#:1350
Source(s):
http://www.forgottenoh.com/Counties/Cuyahoga/drury...

It's hard to look at the Drury Mansion, built in 1912 by Francis Drury, and not imagine it being infested with ghostly spectres. This foreboding wooden structure boasts over 50 rooms and comes complete with spiraling towers and maze-like corridors. And sometime after 1914, a secret tunnel was constructed which runs under Euclid Avenue to the Drury Theater. But perhaps the most enigmatic aspect of Drury Mansion is its ghosts and just who they are.

A successful industrialist, Francis Drury wanted to create a building that reflected his immense wealth and he spared no expense in constructing his dream home. But there are no reports of paranormal activity taking place during the time Drury and his family occupied the house. Indeed, by all accounts, the building was ghost-free.

Throughout its history, Drury Mansion also served as a home for unwed mothers and a boarding house. Today, the building operates as a private meeting facility. But it was shortly after 1972, when the property was leased to the Ohio Adult Parole Authority for use as a halfway house for convicts, that reports of ghostly activity began to filter in.

The most widely known story concerns two police officers who were in charge of guarding the then-vacant building in 1972. It is said that then men became so frightened during the night that the following morning they were found sitting on the floor back-to-back, clutching their shotguns.

Inmates and staff alike have reported the eerie feeling of being watched and of hearing footsteps when no one else was present. Doors and windows open and close by themselves and even window blinds have been known to slide up and down, apparently moved by unseen hands.

There are no accounts of anyone actually seeing a ghost until 1978, when an employee caught a glimpse of one standing on the main staircase. The worker described the figure as that of a woman with her hair tied in a knot on top of her head. This mysterious woman has also been seen in other areas of the house, including the kitchen.

To this day, no one has been able to identify this woman or her reason for being as Drury Mansion. Perhaps she is one of the unwed mothers who once occupied the house or a former boarder. Or maybe she is simply a wayward spirit who, like so many others, caught a glimpse of the gothic structure known as Drury Mansion and decided it would make the perfect home for a ghost.

Added by: sdonley on 01/16/2018 DB#:1351
Source(s):
https://www.ghostsofohio.org/lore/ohio_lore_12.htm...

Paranormal Claims

Here are the paranormal claims for this location. These have been found through Internet research, reports from members, or reports from personal interviews. To add a claim, please contact PANICd.com, and we will review and add your information.

Claim #	Added	Added By	Claim
2662	01/16/2018	sdonley	People have reported the feeling of being watched.
2663	01/16/2018	sdonley	Doors and windows open and close by themselves.
2664	01/16/2018	sdonley	Window Blinds have been known to slide up and down.
2665	01/16/2018	sdonley	Strange footsteps have been heard throughout the building.
2666	01/16/2018	sdonley	An apparition of a women dressed in period clothing with her hair tied in a knot on top her head has been seen.

Additional Resources

This is a collection of Internet resources for this location. This section will house links to other websites that contain information related to history, claims, investigations, or even the location's website.

Cleveland Scene Added: 02/14/2015 By: sdonley	Article on ClevelandScene.com
Ghosts of the Prairie Article Added: 01/16/2018 By: sdonley	Article discussion this location.
Francis Drury Mansion - 8615 Euclid Ave. \| This stately Tudo \| Flickr Added: 01/16/2018 By: sdonley	This stately Tudor Revival style home was built between 1910 and 1912 for Francis Drury. Drury made his fortune designing, manufacturing, and selling stoves. He was also instrumental in the construction of the Cleveland Playhouse which stands (although for not much longer) directly across the street. Drury later built a home at the corner of Cedar Rd. and SOM Center Rd., also in Tudor style, which is now Gilmour Acadamy. Of the remaining grand homes on Euclid Ave., this is one of the best preserved. It is now owned and maintained by the Cleveland Clinic.
8615 Euclid Avenue - Francis Drury Mansion, 1912 :: Cleveland Press Collection Added: 01/16/2018 By: sdonley	Old photograph of this location.