History & local legend
Mary Flinn Lawrence and her husband, John, had Hartwood Acres Mansion built in 1929, along with stables for their horses. Mary continued living there after the estate became an Allegheny County park. Later accounts associated both her presence and her husband’s room with unusual encounters.
A film location manager reported standing beside a woman on the terrace. Later, while looking through the mansion’s gallery, he recognized her in a photograph of Mary. He said the woman in the picture was the person who had been next to him outside.
A maintenance worker described hearing the door to John Lawrence’s room slam. He went upstairs and wedged it open, then returned below. The door slammed again, although the stop was still beneath it. Both stories were collected in interviews for the documentary Ghost From Hartwood Acres.
Sources
- Readmikenow, See the Mansion at Hartwood Acres, interview accounts from Ghost From Hartwood Acres
- Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Hartwood Acres ecological assessment, park history
- Allegheny County, volunteering at Hartwood, estate and mansion history
- Allegheny County, Hartwood Acres Mansion location
