Today on Monday Mysteries we explore a real-life Santa Barbara mystery: a mysteriously well-timed fire on Glen Annie Road.

This was not a wild fire like the ones that have been in the news around here recently, though. Before I tell you about the fire, though, let me set the stage.

The year is 1862. 45-year old William Welles Hollister, a rancher with a huge spread in a valley near Santa Barbara marries the Annie, the 21-year old daughter of one of his business associates in San Francisco. The couple then take up residence in Hollister’s ranch in San Benito County

But there’s catch. The mistress of the house for the past 15 years has been William’s widowed sister — and business partner — Lucy Brown.

There’s a local historian, Michael Redmon, who writes a column for a Santa Barbara weekly paper. I’ll let his column pick it up from here:

…The Hollisters moved to [another] ranch in Tecolote Canyon in 1869. Over the years, Hollister created at the ranch a horticultural and agricultural showplace. He also became one of Santa Barbara’s leading entrepreneurs and philanthropists. …

Tension between Lucy and Annie worsened until Annie delivered an ultimatum: Either Lucy had to go, or she would leave. Caught between two strong-willed women, Hollister hatched an unusual plan. He built a second, larger house for his wife further up the canyon. The “Upper Ranch” became the Hollisters’ social center, while Lucy looked after ranch business at the lower house. …
from “Glen Annie Road” by Michael Redmon, Santa Barbara Independent, 5/14/2014

Annie and William had 6 children, only a few of whom survived to adulthood. William was quite the womanizer, and apparently it was well-known that Annie was pretty unhappy in her marriage. Saddled with a bad marriage and a sister-in-law who hated her, it must have seemed like the last straw when things took a legal turn for the worse. Back to Redmon:

… Additionally, a legal cloud hung over Glen Annie. There was the possibility that Hollister’s purchase of the ranch was illegal by violating the terms of Nicholas Den’s will; Den had been the previous owner. The Den heirs decided to sue.

Hollister determined to fight. The case dragged through the courts for 14 years. It was not settled until 1890, four years after Hollister’s death, when the state Supreme Court found for the Den heirs. …
from “Glen Annie Road” by Michael Redmon, Santa Barbara Independent,5/14/2014

Yes, that’s right. Ultimately the court decided that the Den heirs had a right to the house that Annie lived in. No fault of her own, but she was suddenly being forced from the house her husband had built for her. After the state Supreme Court ruling, all avenues of appeal were exhausted. Annie was therefore served an eviction notice. She resisted for quite a while, but finally packed up and left.

Hours later, the house — which was deserted in all senses — suddenly burst into flames, burning completely to the ground. Arson was suspected, of course, with Annie as the prime suspect. However, nothing was ever proven.  She lived for almost 20 more years in a small house elsewhere in Santa Barbara, never prosecuted for the crime, although the fortunate coincidence of timing is always noted in any description of her and her husband.

What isn’t in any of the writeups I’ve seen, though,  is what happened to William’s sister, Lucy. I mean, where was she when the flames started and the “Upper Ranch” burned down?  In my (fictionalized) solution to the story, Lucy would have burned it down to frame Annie, so that Lucy could get Annie’s share of the business when Annie went to jail. After all,  Annie would have inherited William’s share of the business when he died, 4 years before the fire, so Lucy would have had motive.

I know, I know, I probably have been watching too many Columbo episodes recently.

In any case, while I made up that last part about Lucy being involved with the fire, the rest of the story is true. So we have a real life mystery for our final Monday in Santa Barbara.

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And yes, as that last line suggests, Chris and I will be moving on from Santa Barbara soon.  So where’s the next stop on the Plan G Road Trip?  Stay tuned.