Dixon Community Theater and Dixon Historical Society partnered to host the inaugural Haunted History Tour on Oct. 24 and Oct. 25. From left are Joshua Benson and Kelly Pidgeon James of Dixon Community Theater, e joined by Dixon Historical Society President Kim Schroeder-Evans. Photo by Kendall Brown

DIXON, CA (MPG) - The streets of downtown Dixon were filled with flickering candlelight and ghostly tales Oct. 24 and 25 as the Dixon Community Theater and the Dixon Historical Society partnered to host the inaugural Haunted History Tour.

Each night featured two sold-out tours at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., drawing 30 participants per session. Guests carried plastic candles and programs marking eight stops through Dixon’s historic downtown while guides shared eerie stories from the city’s past. Tours, normally led by Dixon Community Theater President Cheryl Sommers were, for the final night of the event, led by Vice President Kelly Pidgeon James and collaborator Joshua Benson.

Talks for a haunted history series began between the two organizations in 2024 but scheduling conflicts delayed the project until 2025.

“We were trying to do it last year but the workload on both our ends made it impossible,” said Dixon Community Theater representative Pidgeon James, who led Friday’s tour. “So Kim (Schroeder-Evans), Cheryl (Sommers) and I decided this year we would for sure make it happen.”

The tour began at the Dixon Historical Society, where James opened with a presentation on California’s violent colonial past, focusing on the 1810 massacre of the Wintun people by Spanish forces near present-day Solano County.

“After three days, the tribe had been entirely massacred,” James told attendees, recounting the survival of 11-year-old Sina, later known as Chief Francisco Solano.

The sold-out Haunted History Tour visited several historic locations around town, including McCune Mansion, Pardi Plaza (previously the Capitol Hotel) and Carnegie Library. Guests were given electromagnetic field meters (EMF) readers to scan for ghosts at each location. Photo by Kendall Brown

From there, guests stopped at Frosty’s to learn about the rise and fall of Silveyville, the town that preceded Dixon, before continuing to Nino’s for the tale of the 1897 Belew family poisonings.

Other stops included the former Dixon Fire Department site, where a 19th-century murder occurred, and First Northern Bank, once home to Dixon’s oldest building, where employees reportedly encounter a ghost named Bill.

At each stop, participants used electromagnetic field meters (EMF) readers to detect possible paranormal activity. Spikes were reportedly recorded near the Carnegie Library basement and the railroad crossing known locally as “the Hoodoo Crossing,” the site of a 1925 train crash that killed nine men.

Stories also included accounts from the Olde Vets Hall, once home to a mortuary; the McCune Mansion, said to have flickering lights and moving curtains; and Pardi Plaza, where tunnels once connected the former Palace Hotel to nearby businesses and brothels.

According to James, the community response exceeded expectations.

“We’ve sold out completely of all the tours,” said James. “It’s been very popular, which is really nice and reaffirming.”

Pidgeon James said that both organizations plan to continue the event next year.

“With the popularity of this one, we have to add to it,” said James. “Maybe do something in the cemetery or another location in town.”

The Haunted History Tour was part of a series of fall events hosted by local organizations.

Organizers said they hope the Haunted History Tour will become an annual tradition highlighting Dixon’s complex and sometimes chilling past.

For more information, visit dixoncommunitytheater.org or dixonhistoricalsociety.org.