Pulford House
Pulford House Murder!
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Daniel S. Berry was a very prominent attorney and politician who took on some of the biggest cases in the county. He rented an office in the beautiful and historic Pulford building, owned by one of Savanna’s self-made millionaire, Bothwell Pulford. On the morning of May 22, 1905, Daniel Berry was unlocking his office door when he was shot and killed.
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But who did it? Was the assailant a former convict that Berry had prosecuted? Or was it his once close friend Pulford who had heard speculation rumors of Berry and his wife, Lucinda, having an affair? Days later, Pulford took his own life, the mystery deepened. Why did he take his own life? Or was it someone else who did the dastardly deed?
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At the time of the murder, Pulford was building a beautiful and grand opera house for his wife Lucinda. After the death of Pulford, the opera house construction completely stopped, and the grand staircases, stage, and dressing rooms remain eerily empty.
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The Opera House construction came to a complete halt after the suspicious deaths. The grand staircases are built but lead to dead-end walls, the dressing rooms collect dust where the talent would have got dressed, the bathroom sits empty and dark with the original clawfoot tub weathering over time.
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This marks the last stop on our tour. We hope you learned a bit more about Savanna's history.