Haystack Landing

As the story goes, one of the "most Haunted Places in the World" is located at the southern tip of Petaluma California. It's called Haystack Landing.

Our story begins in 1852,when a settler named Freeman Parker -- who had come to California in search of gold -- claimed 160 acres near the Petaluma River, including territory that would later become Haystack Landing. He built a house and ran a dairy. Meanwhile, Charles Minturn launched steam-boat service on the river. Another man, named Rudesill, built a dock at Haystack Landing where passengers could get on and off and where cargo could be loaded onto lighter boats before it was taken further up the narrowing river.

It was during this time that a second house was built quite close to the river, where Rudesill and Minturn were reported to have lived. That large, two-story white house was sold to David Walls in the 1800s. The Walls family owned the house until the 1940s, after which the property changed hands several times. Renters continued to live in the house until the 1970s, when it fell into greater and greater disrepair and became a haven for squatters.

There are some who say that the local Miwok Indians considered the land taboo and evil. There were whispers  of a Spanish missionary who committed suicide after attempting to bless the area. There are also claims of early settlers going crazy and killing several farmers on the site, and that Rudesill (whom they call Rudisville) vanished under mysterious circumstances shortly after building the dock.

There have been films made about Haystack Landing. In one filmmakers' detailed history, which is included on the film's Web site, there are claims that the site is plagued by bizarre phenomena and negative spiritual activity. There's the story of the first train to connect with the Haystack Landing dock exploding, killing 30 people. (This incident is also mentioned in a 2003 news article that claims the accident took place in 1866, after which the cargo cars were pulled by mules.) Other tales include a mysterious fire that killed dozens of dock loaders; children being crushed between a barge and the dock; an ill-fated bull-fighting ring; a ferry accident that killed David Walls and his family; and transients committing mass suicide. (If you dig deep enough you can probably find dogs dancing with cats, too.)

In the early 2000's, a developer came forward with plans to turn a portion of the site into the Haystack Marketplace, a project with 100 residential units and 30,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. That plan was scheduled to begin construction in 2004, but as of 2007 Haystack Landing remained a barge dock for shipping.

Currently, the property is owned by the Dutra Asphalt Company, a subsidiary of the Dutra Group, a family-run operation that mines rock and gravel in Petaluma, San Rafael, and Richmond. Dutra intended re-establishing its asphalt batch plant operation on the land. The historic house was to be transplanted to make way for the plant in 2004. That plan failed when a "mysterious" fire destroyed the structure.

With only the foundation left looks like the locals might be spending a bit more time at the Phoenix... stay Tooned...

Thank you to Sacred Sonoma for the info...it appears the site's moniker comes not from historical events but from a group of filmmakers who, in the late 1990s, set out to create a Blair Witch Project-style film called "Incident at Haystack Landing."