👻 HAUNTED PLACE · EXP. Nº1189
ACTIVE
Donaldina Cameron House
Donaldina Cameron House is a location reputed to be haunted in San Francisco, California, US. Its reputation comes from reported apparitions, unexplained phenomena and eyewitness accounts gathered over time.
Where is Donaldina Cameron House?
- Location
- San Francisco, California, US
- Type
- House / mansion
- Coordinates
- 37.793, -122.408
- Testimonies
- 0
- Last updated
LOCATION
Why is Donaldina Cameron House said to be haunted?
The Donaldina Cameron House at 920 Sacramento Street is the 1908 Julia Morgan–designed successor to the 1874 Occidental Mission House, where Donaldina Cameron and her Chinese aide Tien Fuh Wu rescued 2,000–3,000 trafficked girls and women from Chinatown's "Yellow Slave Trade." The building, rebuilt with salvaged clinker bricks after the 1906 earthquake, later became a youth center under Rev. F.S. "Dick" Wichman (1947–1977), whose decades of sexual abuse of boys were formally acknowledged by the institution in 2004. Designated SF Landmark #44 (1971). Today the nonprofit Cameron House serves Asian American families; Joice Street beside it was commemoratively renamed "Tien Fuh Wu Way" in 2026. The haunted reputation is a retrospective narrative layer, not a documented phenomenon.
What is the history of Donaldina Cameron House?
The Donaldina Cameron House at 920 Sacramento Street in San Francisco's Chinatown is the rebuilt 1908 successor to the Occidental Board Presbyterian Mission House, founded in 1874 as a refuge for Chinese girls and women escaping trafficking, forced prostitution, and indentured servitude — what contemporaries called the "Yellow Slave Trade." The original wooden building at 933 Sacramento Street was established by the Presbyterian Women's Occidental Board of Foreign Missions under superintendent Margaret Culbertson. In 1895, 25-year-old Donaldina Cameron arrived from New Zealand to teach sewing; two years later, Culbertson's death made Cameron superintendent. She ran the home for 34 years, credited with rescuing between 2,000 and 3,000 women and girls through court battles, nighttime raids with police, and direct confrontations with tongs who called her "Fahn Quai" (White Devil). The 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed the original building when firefighters dynamited it to create a firebreak; Cameron famously returned into the burning city to retrieve the guardianship logbook that protected her wards from being forced back into servitude. The current building, designed by Julia Morgan using salvaged clinker bricks, reopened in 1908. Cameron retired in 1934; the home became a language school, then a youth community center under Rev. F.S. "Dick" Wichman (1947–1977), who was later found to have sexually abused dozens of boys in the programs — a scandal the institution formally acknowledged in 2004 through a Healing Task Force. The building was designated San Francisco Landmark #44 on October 10, 1971. Today it operates as the nonprofit Cameron House, serving Asian American families with social services, youth programs, and counseling. The original "Presbyterian Mission House" lettering remains carved in the brickwork over the entrance. The block of Joice Street alongside the building was commemoratively renamed "Tien Fuh Wu Way" in 2026, honoring Cameron's Chinese aide and co-rescuer, herself a former mui tsai (child slave) who became Cameron's indispensable translator and partner for four decades.
Timeline: the documented record of Donaldina Cameron House
- 1874 Presbyterian Women's Occidental Board of Foreign Missions founds the Occidental Mission House at 933 Sacramento Street as a refuge for Chinese girls and women escaping trafficking and forced prostitution.
- 1895 Donaldina Cameron, aged 25, arrives from New Zealand to teach sewing at the Mission House under superintendent Margaret Culbertson.
- 1897 Margaret Culbertson dies; Cameron becomes superintendent of the Mission House, a role she holds for 34 years.
- March 1900 The "Palo Alto Kidnapping": Cameron prevents the forced removal of a rescued girl, Kum Quai, by brothel associates posing as police; the resulting public uproar leads to criminal indictments and increases support for the Mission House.
- April 1906 The 1906 earthquake and fire destroy the original Mission House when firefighters dynamite it to create a firebreak. Cameron re-enters the burning city to retrieve the guardianship logbook protecting her wards.
- 1908 The current building at 920 Sacramento Street, designed by Julia Morgan using salvaged clinker bricks, is completed and occupied. Girls and mui tsai hide in the basement from captors.
- 1934 Cameron retires after 34 years; credited with rescuing 2,000–3,000 women and girls. The home transitions to a language school.
- 1942 The Mission House is renamed Donaldina Cameron House in her honor. Cameron moves to Palo Alto.
- 1947 Rev. F.S. "Dick" Wichman becomes executive director, reorienting Cameron House to youth programs. His tenure (1947–1977) later emerges as a period of systematic sexual abuse of boys.
- 10 October 1971 Designated San Francisco Landmark #44.
- December 1987 Elaine Chan-Scherer, former staffer, blows the whistle on Wichman's abuse; San Francisco Presbytery investigates; nine men testify under oath. Wichman demits from the Presbyterian Church in November 1988 before trial.
- 2004 Cameron House Healing Task Force delivers 53-page report documenting 18 primary/secondary victims (task force chair Greg Chan estimates 40+ known victims). Cameron House and Presbyterian Church formally acknowledge abuse and apologize.
- 26 March 2007 Therapist Satsuki Ina and Presbytery executive Craig Palmer confront Wichman at his Oregon retirement home; he denies wrongdoing, reframes abuse as "helping boys experience freedom." Wichman dies June 19, 2007, never apologizing.
- March 2026 Joice Street between Sacramento and Clay is commemoratively renamed "Tien Fuh Wu Way" honoring Cameron's Chinese aide, translator, and co-rescuer Tien Fuh Wu (1886–1975), herself a rescued mui tsai.
Is there a rational explanation for Donaldina Cameron House?
The building's haunted reputation rests on its "unsettling social history" — the suffering of trafficked women and girls who hid in its basement, and decades later, the abuse of boys under Wichman. No first-hand witness accounts of paranormal phenomena at 920 Sacramento Street have been located in primary sources. The haunting claims appear to be a retrospective narrative layer: the building's grim past (documented trafficking rescues, the 1906 dynamiting, the Wichman abuse scandal) is real and well-sourced; the ghost stories are not. The earliest print references to the site as "haunted" postdate the 2004 Healing Task Force report and the 2007 confrontation with Wichman in Oregon, suggesting the paranormal framing may have grown alongside the institution's public reckoning with its own history. The architecture — narrow stairwells, basement hiding spaces, the original mission sign embedded in brick — provides ample environmental cues (creaking floors, temperature differentials, pareidolia in peeling paint) that visitors primed by the "haunted" label may interpret as supernatural. The institution itself does not promote haunting claims; its official materials emphasize healing, historical acknowledgment, and current community services. The Cameron House website, FoundSF, and the San Francisco Landmark designation all treat the paranormal reputation as a footnote, not a feature.
Can you visit Donaldina Cameron House?
Cameron House is an active nonprofit at 920 Sacramento Street (at Joice Street), San Francisco, CA 94108, in the heart of Chinatown. It is not a museum and does not offer regular public tours. The building houses offices, program spaces, and a chapel; visits are by appointment for services, events, or scheduled group visits. Contact: (415) 781-0401 ext. 101 or [email protected]. The exterior and the original "Presbyterian Mission House" brick sign over the main entrance are visible from the sidewalk. The commemorative "Tien Fuh Wu Way" street sign on Joice Street (between Sacramento and Clay) was installed in 2026. Public transit: Muni lines 1-California, 30-Stockton, and 45-Union/Stockton stop within two blocks; the Powell Street BART/Muni station is a 10-minute walk. Street parking is extremely limited; the nearest garage is Portsmouth Square Garage (733 Kearny St). The building has ADA-accessible entry via the Joice Street side. Photography of the exterior is permitted; interior access requires staff permission. The organization's annual gala (typically March) and Tien Fuh Wu Day of Service (May 30) are public events. For current programs, counseling, or youth services, see cameronhouse.org.
Sources consulted
- Julia Flynn Siler, «The Safe Place That Became Unsafe» — Alta Journal, 2021 newspaper archive
- Julia Flynn Siler, «The White Devil's Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown» — Alfred A. Knopf, 2019 book
- Annie Cameron Reller, «Donaldina Cameron: The Person Behind the Legend» — FoundSF, 2021 archive
- NoeHill in San Francisco, «San Francisco Landmark #44: Donaldina Cameron House» — noehill.com, 2004 archive
- Cameron House, «Cameron House: Our Story / Historical Timeline» — Official website, 2026 archive
- Cameron House, «Tien Fuh Wu Way» — Official website, 2026 archive
- Rae Alexandra, «The Child Slave Who Helped Rescue Thousands of Women in Chinatown» — KQED, 2020 newspaper archive
- Stellman, Louis J. (Louis John), 1877–1961, «Donaldina Cameron House (Wikimedia Commons photo)» — California State Library / Wikimedia Commons, 1908 archive
Reviewed by V. Serrano on 2026-08-21 · How we verify our content
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