Is This Arizona Home of a Legendary Cowboy Artist Really Haunted?

No crucial is required to unlock the entrance doors of this $3.5 million historic home in the Arizona town of Paradise Valley.

They are a throwback to artist Lon Megargee, who crafted this house and studio in 1928. Regarded for his paintings of the desert landscape, American Indians, and cowboys, Megargee died in 1960. But his existence nonetheless looms substantial in this fascinating home.

“The front doors them selves are just the first showstopper, for the reason that they’re wooden with glass panes. If you appear at the entrance, you see there is certainly no lock, so you can not use a crucial on those front doors,” describes listing agent Marianne Bazan, with Arizona Finest Real Estate. “When you near it from the within, you will find an iron bar that hangs from one particular of the doorways and matches in excess of a loop on the other door to protected it.”

The one of a kind latching system is just a person of the original functions in the 4,061-square-foot adobe household. Many others involve the fortress-like partitions.

“The hallmark of adobe is to build pretty thick walls. Some of these partitions are 30 inches thick in the key dwelling, and you can see in some of the window wells just how thick some of the walls are,” Bazan explains.

These days, the exterior is preserved with stucco and most of the interiors are treated with milk paint.

Past proprietors “did depart a modest rectangular square in the home with uncovered adobe just as a minor reminder of what the household definitely is,” she provides.

Within, the flagstone floors and quite a few of the fireplaces are authentic. Wooden utilized through the dwelling was sourced from old bridges

The main house has 3 bedrooms, and there is certainly a detached, one-bed room guesthouse.

A loft space the moment served as Megargee’s art studio. Quite a few of his paintings are on display screen in the point out Capitol constructing.

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Earlier owners saved the household from destruction in the 1980s, according to Bazan. They handed it around to subsequent proprietors who have taken pains to preserve the property.

“The latest potential buyers are absolutely in like with this dwelling,” she suggests. “They individual a quantity of historic qualities, and they fully grasp what it usually means to very own a house that has its quirks like this 1 does.”

Megargee arrived to Arizona when he was 13 and worked as a cowboy. Later on, he became an artist and painted the desert landscape and other local topics.

He was really the lady’s male and married at least seven situations, according to nearby lore. He constructed this home—which he named Casa del Sol—for a single of his lots of wives named Lilly. She remained in the home after they divorced, and it stayed in her relatives for a long time.

“The authentic gate is even now there and the header has ‘Casa del Sol’ carved into it,” Bazan states.

Megargee also created Casa Hermosa nearby, which is now a resort named the Hermosa Inn.

There are reports Megargee haunts the Hermosa Inn, where by friends and personnel say they have viewed him around sporting a cowboy hat.

Bazan helpfully notes that Casa del Sol may possibly also be property to a wandering spirit.

“The present owner [of Casa del Sol] claims he hasn’t seen any apparitions, but he has listened to classical music actively playing and what appears like a a single note, like a violin string,” she states.

News of a wandering spirit did not dampen curiosity in this exclusive assets. Many gives rolled in, and the place is now pending sale.