MARION COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 Lurking in the woods of Ocklawaha is a large, two-story house built nearly 100 years ago.<\/p>\n
No one lives there anymore, but that wasn\u2019t always the case.<\/p>\n
Originally, the home was built on Lake Weir in 1930 by the Bradford family, and it was mainly used as a vacation home.<\/p>\n
Front of the Ma Barker House as of Oct. 1, 2024 (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
However, that changed in 1934 when owner Carson Bradford got an offer to rent the home from the representative of a Mrs. T.C. \u201cKate\u201d Blackburn \u2014 someone described as a \u201csweet little old lady\u201d who wanted an out-of-the-way place where she could spend some quality time with her sons.<\/p>\n
While Carson originally declined the offer, Mrs. Blackburn didn\u2019t relent. Instead, the offer went up, along with an additional offer to pay cash in advance for the entire season.<\/p>\n
Old photograph of the Bradford – Ma Barker House (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
Around two months later, the home became the site of the longest FBI shootout in history.<\/p>\n
It turned out that Mrs. Blackburn was actually Kate \u201cMa\u201d Barker<\/a>, who was linked to one of the most notorious gangs of all time.<\/p>\n Old photographs of Arizona “Kate” Donnie Clark (a.k.a. “Ma Barker”) (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n THE BARKER BOYS<\/p>\n Barker (n\u00e9e Arizona Donnie Clark) was literally the mother of a criminal enterprise, though she started off in bleak poverty.<\/p>\n Her four sons \u2014 Herman, Lloyd, Arthur and Freddy \u2014 began committing crimes before they even reached their teenage years. Of course, their activities escalated into full-blown robberies, paving the way to the gang\u2019s formation.<\/p>\n [FLORIDA FABLES: Deadly Florida sinkhole is also the deepest]<\/p>\n Herman died after a failed robbery in 1927, where he shot an officer in the face before ultimately turning the gun on himself.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Freddy was sent to prison for robbery in 1928, which is when he met Alvin Karpis. The two set out on a plan to form their own gang when they got out, and the duo eventually received parole in 1931.<\/p>\n Around a year later, they met up with Arthur Barker (who had also been sent to prison for robbery) and began putting the pieces of their plan into action.<\/p>\n (Left to right) Herman Barker, Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, Arthur “Doc” Barker (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n \u201cThey robbed hundreds of banks. They robbed more banks than all the big-name gangsters combined,\u201d local historian Wayne Hughes told News 6. \u201cThey stole more money than all those big-name gangsters combined.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Hughes, the gang would go from town to town, renting places for a short time to commit their crimes (sometimes including murder) before heading on to the next place. Along the way, the gang picked up several other members to boost their ranks, and Ma Barker was known to help them out.<\/p>\n [BELOW: The most haunted restaurant in America is right here in Florida]<\/p>\n But after the banks dried up, Hughes explained, the trio then began kidnapping. One such case involved wealthy banker Edward Bremer, who was snatched in 1934 and released a short time later for a $200,000 ransom (nearly $5 million in today\u2019s money).<\/p>\n However, that kidnapping gave investigators the clues they needed<\/a> to track down the gang\u2019s members.<\/p>\n HEADING TO FLORIDA<\/p>\n Shortly after the kidnapping, the gang disbanded, with Fred Barker, his mother, and a cohort named Harry Campbell heading to Florida. The two Barkers eventually rented out the Lake Weir home from Carson Bradford to hide out.<\/p>\n Shortly afterward, though, Arthur was captured by FBI investigators at a home in Chicago. Upon searching the apartment, investigators found a map of Florida.<\/p>\n According to investigators, Lake Weir was circled on the map.<\/p>\n A table that now sits in the home’s foyer, which has several photos of the home’s original location before it was moved. (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n Around a week after Arthur\u2019s capture, FBI agents surrounded the Ocklawaha home and demanded Ma Barker, Fred Barker and Harry Campbell to surrender. After an approximately three-hour standoff, agents shot tear gas grenades through the house\u2019s windows, sparking machine-gun fire from within.<\/p>\n From there, a roughly two-hour gunfight ensued \u2014 the longest in FBI history, Hughes told News 6. Afterward, Fred and Ma Barker were found dead in the home.<\/p>\n The room where Ma Barker stayed during her time at the Ocklawaha house. According to Wayne Hughes, her body was found riddled with bullets next to the bed. (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARD?<\/p>\n Decades later in 2016, the property was sold to developers, who decided they didn\u2019t want the house, according to county officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n But out of interest for the site, the county decided to move the house across Lake Weir to the Carney Island Recreation and Conservation Area.<\/p>\n An old photo of the Bradford – Ma Barker House being moved across Lake Weir on a large barge (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n Nowadays, the house sits in the park woods.<\/p>\n Visitors can go take a look for themselves, though they\u2019re required to get permission ahead of time.<\/p>\n Front porch of the Ma Barker House (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n THE GHOST STORIES<\/p>\n Like with many older places, there are plenty of ghostly myths <\/a>about the home.<\/p>\n For example, the Tampa Bay Times<\/a> reported on the story of a s\u00e9ance held by a Cassadaga medium<\/a> at the home, during which the psychic claimed that Fred Barker\u2019s ghost had moved on \u2014 but Ma Barker\u2019s spirit refused to leave.<\/p>\n [BELOW: News 6 tests legends at Spook Hill in Lake Wales]<\/p>\n A county official told News 6 that the chair in Ma Barker\u2019s old room \u2014 one that is still riddled with bullets from the FBI shootout \u2014 was known to move around the room without anyone touching it until a stanchion was placed in front of it.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d come up here and say, \u2018Hey, what\u2019s it doing over here?\u201d he said. \u201c(They said), \u2018We didn\u2019t touch it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n (Left) Ma Barker’s bedroom on the second floor. The chair in the corner is littered with bullet holes from the FBI shootout. (Right) The closet in Ma Barker’s bedroom reportedly still contains residue from bloodstains during the shooting on its flooring. (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n While there are plenty of other instances where objects in the house have seemingly moved of their own accord, neither Hughes nor the other county officials were able to verify the home being \u201chaunted.\u201d<\/p>\n AN INSIDE LOOK<\/p>\n Going inside, visitors can see a sprawling foyer littered with old photos and information relating to the house.<\/p>\n Foyer to the Bradford – Ma Barker House (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n From there, visitors can look through the dining room, kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms upstairs.<\/p>\n Below are some photos taken during a tour of the house earlier this month.<\/p>\n One of several bedrooms on the second story. The wall is riddled with bullet holes. (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)Downstairs bathroom at the Ma Barker House (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)A bedroom on the second story of the home. Some of the furniture pieces were actually owned by the Bradford family. (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)Many areas of the home still contain bullet holes from the FBI shootout. These were found in Ma Barker’s bedroom. (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)A look through the window in Ma Barker’s bedroom (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)A sealed-off bedroom on the home’s second floor that was under renovations as of Oct. 1, 2024 (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n For more information on the home or to book a tour yourself, visit the Bradford – Ma Barker House website by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n