CASTLE IN THE CLOUDS

Castle in the Clouds is located in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. It was built by the eccentric millionaire Thomas Plant. It is now part of the 5000 acre Castle Springs estate which is the location of the Castle Springs water bottling plant. Tours of the plant and the castle are available.

For more information, contact:
Castle Springs
P.O. Box 131, Route 171
Moultonbourogh, New Hampshire 03254
Phone 603-476-2352

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

I went there some time around Aug 30th 97. It cost about $60 including for horseback. If you want to ride horseback, reservations need to be made, $25 for an hour. You drive up a one way road, past a waterfall to a great site to see the lake. Past that, you come to a place where the road goes left or right. Left brings you to horses, bottle plant, shannon pond, hikeing trails/ horse trails, and small brewery (lucky beer). Right goes to an old stable converted to a restaurant and rest rooms, as well as info office. There you a wait for ten min. tours to the house and bottling plant.

Mr. Plant (I think that was his name) got rich working in shoe factory, and made shoe manufacturing machines. He owned seven mountains and picked this one because it had the water spring. The house had one of the few 1st phones, and electricty + fire stuff like hats hoses. had secret room small in the librairy, had the showers that had pin holes to spray the body. Great view of the lakes.

The spring is caged and covered. no light so no veg. can grow, and covered so no stuff can get in, there is an over flow pool that runs down the mount and into shannon pound.

The plant bottles the water and a there is small brewery. Lucky was the name of the estate, then sold to Castle Spring (water bottleing), Castle in the Clouds (tourism), Some thing like that. They have a few diff kinds of beer and thickness (color). FREE SAMPLEING!, FREE BOTTLED WATER TOO.

They have ponys for kids and hour or longer rides, where you can see great views.

Later, I received more E-Mail that said:

Construction on the castle began in 1913. At one time over 1000 workers were on the property, Stonemasons.Carpenters, etc.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

I visited Castle in the Clouds back in 1992, and thought it was one of the most awesome things that I have ever seen. I particularly appreciated how Thomas Plant had the house designed to the height of Mrs. Plant, who was only 3 or 4 feet tall, and the showers in the master bath were just unbelievable...it is definately a site that I would like to visit again.

Later, I recieved E-Mail that said:

The Castle in the clouds that is located in Moultonborough N.H. has changed since remembering it in the late 30's. My grandfather was caretaker and lived in the living quarters at the Carriage House. (now a smack bar and office) I can remember visiting him on weekends with my father and mother. I would go with him to feed the horses and clean horse stalls, the hay was stored upstairs and I would push it thru a trap door in the floor and it would fall to the stalls below. I can remember the Carriage House was spotless and the grounds were keep beautiful. This is when Mr. Plant still owned the Castle. I still have the pictures my father took then, only there black and white and don't show the real beauty of the background scenes. It was and still is a beautiful Castle and it sure brought back memories when I visited the Castle in July of 98'.

Mr Bilzor was able to find this link to a site with more information:
Castle in the Clouds
To return to this page, click on the BACK button.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

It's not mentioned anywhere, but I should bring to your attention the fact that 'Castle in the Clouds' in New Hampshire is built on the rim of an ancient volcanic caldera (either a subsidance crater or 'ring dike' depending on which expert you talk to); it's hundreds of millions of years old. (Note: There is no current ogenous activity in New Hampshire.) The Ossippe Mountains are a circular mountain range; they are the eroded rim of a giant, prehistoric volcano. Few people think of volcanic formations in the Eastern U.S., but the castle site affords a great place for visitors interested in rocks and volcanoes. The rock around the castle, and the castle wall itself, is lava (ancient basalt and some younger rhyolite). The spring water sold at the castle percolates up through the lava rock picking up a lot of the volcanic minerals which make it so tasty!

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

I am a former tour guide at the Castle in Clouds (Moultonboro, NH), I felt that I should let you know that some of your information is not quite correct, however it is very close.

-The original name of the estate which the beer is named after is "Lucknow" , not "Lucky". Lucknow is a city in India, where Thomas Plant at one point thought he might like to build in before his neice found the ossipee mountains for him.

-Mrs Plant (her name was Olive, and was the second wife) was actual quite tall. Mr. Plant, on the other hand was about 5'4", and he did have the house built so that door knobs, and the such were at his height. Even on Olive's bedroom door. If you should ever go, take a look in his office- there you will find a suit of armour he wore to costume parties, which will give you a good idea just how short he really was.

-in addition to having a phone, and electricity (which was powered by his own water powered generator), He had the first fire truck in moultonboro, as well as having fire hydrants IN the house.... just in case, you know. He also had a central vacum system a self cleaning stove, and a brine cooled refrigerator.

-A little more information for you- Now this has to be the most popular story about Mr. Plant and his first wife. They lived in a beautiful house in Mass (can't seem to remember where, right now). They had a very rocky marriage, but did stay married for quite a while. Mr Plant went away on a trip to France, and asked the first Mrs. Plant to go with him, however she declined. While in France, Mr. Plant met Olive, a bankers daughter and many years younger, and feel in love. After he returned to the states, The first Mrs. Plant came down to breakfast to find a million dollar check in her napkin roll, and Thomas walked out the front door. Needless to say, she gave him a divorce!

-A little more about his business- He made "Queen Quality Shoes", and his factory was way ahead of it's time- there was a floor with a cafeteria and gym for the workers to use for free. When the factory burned down (years after Mr Plant sold it, and had died), it was the hottest fire in Boston's history.

If you do ever get there, make sure to ask a guide to show you where the green house used to be, as well as where the dog houses are. It is something that is not often pointed out, as it is outside, and guides are typically suppose to stay inside. Trust me, they will welcome the opportunity go out!

I understand the castle is now for sale. Go here for more information:
http://www.landvest.com/features/NH0202/default.htm
To return to this page, click on the BACK button.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

A few things that I didn't see mentioned in the website are the kitchen floor and how Mr. Plant lost his fortune. The kitchen floor is actually a jigsaw puzzle. When it was put down there was no glue used. The pieces were made to fit together very tightly and the floor still exists. At one time during my many visits I remember the tourguide showing us a spot where someone had actually pried up a few of the small jigsaw pieces to see what would happen. The floor still stayed intact. During my last visit I did notice these pieces had been replaced and you could not tell where they actually had been pried up.

Also I remember the tourguide mentioning Teddy Roosevelt often visited the castle and was a friend of Mr. Plants. Mr. Plants fortune was lost on advise given to him to invest in pork bellies I believe it was. The person who gave him the advise I believe was Teddy Roosevelt. In the end Mr. Plant had to sell the castle and pay off his debts and when he died his friends had to take up a collection to pay for his burial. I believe he also lost money in the stock market crash.

Also in the dining room are handpainted windows depicting scenes from around the castle such as flowers, birds etc. and when you visited a few years back you may remember the very large rock that looks like it should be falling over but has remained in that spot for many years. It was along the road to drive up to the castle. I do love this castle and look forward to visiting it often on summer vacations. I remember as a child they let me go into the secret room off the library and once the tourguide had me walk through the closets that line the hallways. I was about ten years old and they wanted to show how long the closets were so they made me walk through them and come out at the end of the hallway.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

Lots of good information about this castle's history and pictures at http://www.lucknow.com/

On 7-9-08, I received e-mail that said:

Recent History:
In 2003, Castle in the Clouds, the iconic 1914 Arts and Crafts Castle and the surrounding 5500 acres of pristine mountains and waterfalls, was purchased from Castle Springs and preserved forever by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, a non-profit conservation organization. The brewery was closed, and the water bottling plant, now owned by CG Roxanne, was sold separately and is no longer affiliated with the Castle. In 2006, the Castle Preservation Society was created as a non-profit organization to restore the Castle buildings and operate the historic Castle for the public's enjoyment, education, and benefit. In 2007, the Castle Preservation Society embarked on a $5 million restoration of the Castle to authentically repair structural damage to the Castle buildings and bring it back to its former glory in time for the Castle's 100th anniversary in 2014.

Castle Operations:
Castle in the Clouds, named "Lucknow" by original owner Thomas Plant, is open weekends from May through early June when it is then open seven days a week through mid-October each year. In addition to self-guided tours through the historic mansion, featuring much original furniture and virtually all of its original paneling, fixtures and innovations, visitors thrill to breathtaking views from this mountaintop estate perched in the Ossipee Mountains overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee and mountains beyond. The Castle's Carriage House, only slightly down the hill, is the setting for an art gallery and a cafe and outdoor patio offering lunches and snacks, also with fabulous views of the Lake and mountains. A few steps away is the New Hampshire-themed gift shop. The Castle hosts many events annually, is the scene of numerous weddings, and is a favorite destination for people who want to see as much of New Hampshire as possible in a single day.

Features:
Castle in Clouds offers 45-miles of hiking trails from easy to difficult (on Lakes Region Trust property), an easy-to-walk Brook Trail near the Castle itself, Shannon Pond with giant trout that children may feed, and over 1000 feet of waterfalls on the property, some of which can be seen from the entrance road. Families can hike, walk, or picnic anywhere and imagine what the good life might have been 100 years ago! Castle in the Clouds no longer offers horseback riding. For complete up-to-date information on the Castle and upcoming events, visit castleintheclouds.org

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