Cross Timbers Winery
Pre-Investigation
Investigation
Pre-Investigation
Located in Grapevine, Cross Timbers Winery is located at the intersection of Dove and Main Street. The farm house which now holds the tasting room and office for the winery was originally built in 1874 by Dr. Dorris who moved to Texas from Mississippi. The Brock family later purchased the property and ran a grist mill there. The Brock family owned the property until the 1990s. This house is one of the oldest structures in the City of Grapevine.Patty Weatherman purchased the property in 1990 and lived there until her death in 1994. The current owner, Don, purchased the property in 1994 and converted it into a winery which opened in 2001. Don made improvements to the property himself including erecting a barn which was built on a design of the original which sat at the same location. The main house contains a master bedroom, bar, office, back living room, kitchen, and two bathrooms.
Don’s experiences in the home are many. He had the pleasure of meeting Kate Weatherman, Patty’s daughter, shortly after purchasing the property. Kate made the statement that her mother is still “in the house”. Don talked with Kate and learned that while Kate was going through her mother’s things after her death, that she felt her mother’s spirit in the house. At one point she felt being touched and her hair being pulled.
Don said that when they were close to opening the winery he noticed a cabinet door would be opened every morning despite being closed the night before. These doors are located high up the wall in the master bedroom and can only be reached while on a step ladder (even by me). Don learned that this cabinet had been used to store Christmas decorations. When they decorated the winery for Christmas, the door opening stopped.
Don said that he has had many visitors comment upon being in the house for awhile that they feel there is a ghost there. Several visitors have been able to pinpoint the spot where Sally died. I’m not going to reveal this information prior to the investigation, I would like to see if our investigators can pick up on this or if we have any activity to try to reveal this fact.
Don also told the story that one night he was alone in the house. He heard someone rattling the front door handle. This happened a couple of times with no one being there. He thought that it must be some kids playing a joke. He squatted near the window that looks out to the front door, looking under the window shade. He planned on getting even with the pranksters. As he was kneeling down looking out the window, the window shade suddenly rolled up completely. He said it really scared him, but he decided that it must be Patty playing a joke on him. This just happened about a month ago.
The window shades are frequently moved. They will be pulled all the way down at night. In the morning they will all be moved to a half way up position.
Don said that just last week he was standing near the back door looking out toward the barn. He said he saw two women standing near the barn door. One was dressed in a white old fashioned dress. He went to meet the women figuring them to be visitors. When he got outside there was no one there.
The manager of the winery is Aimee. Aimee said that several female guests had reported someone jiggling the door handle for one of the bathroom and they report when they open the door there is no one there. Aimee says that her ex-husband used to come pick her up. Once while he was in the house he felt his ear being flicked. He refused to enter the house after that.
Aimee says she frequently detects a floral aroma as well as another odor that she can’t quite describe.
Aimee says that the most active areas seem to be the front bedroom, a back room, and the bathroom. There was a report of a chair being moved in the front bedroom. There have also been reports of objects being moved from where they had been placed. While there has not been much activity in the barroom, a caterer reported feeling a cold burst of air hit him once when he was making a delivery.
The barn area is also active. Many quests report hearing footsteps upstairs when no one is there. They also report hearing doors opening only to find they are closed. Several guest have reported finding odd shapes in photos taken near the back pavillon and the bar-b-que grill.
One visitor to the house claimed to be psychic. Aimee observed him having a long conversation with an imagery person that he said was the previous owner. He described her as having short brown hair and glasses. He said that she was very happy and intended to stay.
Investigation
The Stockyards Paranormal Investigations team conducted an investigation of Cross Timbers Winery on the evening of November 8, 2008. The investigators for the evening were Monica, Terri, Cheryl, and Kevin. We were joined by our host Aimee.We divided into two man teams with one team working in the barn and the other working in the house. Both teams reported hearing noises that couldn’t immediately be traced. These noises could probably be attributed to normal house noises or in one case we found an uninvited visitor hiding in the fireplace. I’m told he has been removed by the management.
Terri and Kevin heard a loud rustling noise near the front door. There was absolutely nothing natural that could have caused that sound. It was very close to us and we examined the area for anything that could have caused it. We’ve included a recording of this noise in the EVP section of this report. Later, Cheryl and Monica heard a similar noise in the same place.
We picked up a few orb photos, most of which we discounted as dust or water vapor. However there was one that was very bright and seemed to have some movement to it.
Monica picked up two very distinctive EVPs in the house. The most distinctive of these is a voice that says “Who’s that man”. This happened shortly after Terri and Kevin had left the house and Monica and Cheryl started their investigation there. It was almost as if the spirit was wanting to know about Kevin. This was one of the better EVPs our group has captured over the years.
Both Terri and Cheryl reported feeling chilled several times. Kevin reported a light touch on the back of his head during a session in the upstairs of the barn. Terri reported a rather foul smell while all investigators were in the main house. This odor was very faint and short lasted.
Our team felt like Cross Timbers Winery was a great place to investigate. It certainly had a feel to it that we don’t often get on investigations. The EVP we captured was one of the best our group has found in quite awhile. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening there and hope to return in the coming year.
We would like to thank Aimee and owner Don for allowing us access to this wonderful site and for the time they spent giving us the history of the location. The great thing about this place is that it is open to the public, just buy a glass of wine when you’re there, heck buy a bottle.
Pictures
Picture One
Picture Two
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Picture Five
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Picture Seven
Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVPs)
Noise by the door
"It's dark"
"Who's that man"
