LITCHFIELD CASTLE

I received E-Mail that said:

There is a castle located in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State called Litchfield Castle. It has been there for approximately 100 years. It lies between the villages of Long Lake and Tupper Lake NY,

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

Litchfield Castle remains a private estate still owned by the original family. It is a working estate involved in the wood products industry. Last I knew, they were producing charcoal.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

I may be able to give you some information on Litchfield Castle. Construction began on the castle in 1910, on the shore of Jenkins Pone, renamed Lake Madeline after Mr. Litchfield's wife. 600 Italian stone masons were contracted to construct the castle. The stone they used was native granite, quarried on the property, some 8,654 acres. It is built of stone, steel, and concrete, the floors are tile and marble. The walls vary from 3-6 feet in thickness. It is French medieval type arcitecture with two towers, each 3 stories in height. The exterior took about one year to build, while the 100 room interior required two more years.

When Mr. Litchfield first bought the property, he had been in the area on a summer trip. At the time he was a teenager. He purchased the land to develop "a game preserve equal to the finest Europe can provide". He fenced the park with a woven wire fence 8 feet high, and began importing exotic animals. Elk, moose, wild boar, fallow deer, jackrabbits, etc. All of which subsequently perished.

Litchfield Park was open to visitors for many years, although it seems this was taken advantage of by some and the castle was closed. It is still owned by the Litchfield family.

Later, I received E-Mail along with a photo that said:

Found this in the Tupper Lake Web Page and believe that it is Litchfield Castle.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

Just a quick note to the Litchfield castle, My Grand Father Harvey St.Onge was the formen for the Litchfield Farm. My Grandmother was a housekeeper and my Aunt Madeline was named after Mrs. Litchfield. I have heard stories of my Aunts and Uncles growing up on the land, and working the farm and the castle. Most of the stories were in French as my Grandparents were canadian. My Grandfather was a mason and carpenter. I have seen pictures of the castle and the estate back in the hay days, when all 13 children (my mothers siblings) lived there along with many other families who worked the farm.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

I visited Litchfield Castle in the town of moody near Tupper Lake NY this spring. It is being wonderfully maintained by the Grandson of the Original owner Edward Litchfield, a noted lawyer from Brooklyn whose mansion at prospect park is now headquarters for prospect park.

The stone was quarried on the property from nearby Mt. Morris and the walls range from 6 feet thick in the basement to just under 3 feet near the top of the castle to handle the massive weight. In 1911 new York architect Don Barber was hired and it was completed in 1913. It is known to the local people as Litchfield Chateau. It is reached by a 5 mile private road and is not open to the public.

It may be challenged for drama only by Vanderbilt's Biltmore in North Carolina. The vast main hall on which is mounted 160 hunting trophies from litchfields world travels. The great hall is 65 feet long by 30 feet wide and 30 feet high. On one end is a dark green marble fireplace with a French medieval mantelpiece 15 feet high, six feet wide which was designed by and taken from Stanford White's mansion in New York City. On the other end of the hall is a musicians balcony situated over a mounted elephant's head. Other authentic fireplaces taken from chateaux and castles in England and France.

The parks managed forest (8600acres) produces lumber which is sold to a local lumber company. It is one of the most impressive buildings in a very remote location which makes for a unique castle to say the least.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

My name is john franklin, jr., currently living in florida, 49 years old. My family is from Pennsylvania. One day in the mid 1960's my father and mother took my 3 sisters and I to lake placid. During our stay, my father and I played golf at craig wood golf course. On the first hole a gentleman and his wife were playing slow, so they asked us to play through. My father said no, can we just play together. This fine couple was Mr. and Mrs. Blodgett. At the end of the round, we went in to have a drink and the man and woman told us about a castle that they were caretakers of in Tupper Lake. The lady had fallen on the marble steps and injured her back and they were golfing as rehab for the injury.

Mrs. Blodgett started to tell me about the ghost that inhabited the chateau, voices on the intercom, a gong sounding for no reason, etc. The Blodgetts had a dog named "Liparko" after the Litchfield Park Company. The Blodgetts invited us to the castle the following year. I have many pictures to this day of the castle and much more information about the place that I will forward to you.

Thank you for the web site. If someday a relative of the Blodgetts reads your website I sure would like to hear from them.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

For anyone interested in Litchfield Park, I would encourage them to purchase the definitive work on this amazing story. The book is entitled Litchfield Park: Stories from an Adirondack Great Camp written by my father, John W Stock, Superintendent of the Park for 20+ years. The book was published by the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, NY in 2004. All proceeds from the book go to the Adirondack Museum.

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Second and third photos courtesy of Russell Roberts.