Squire's Castle
Encyclopedia
Squire's Castle is a shell of a building
located in the North Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland
Metroparks
in Willoughby Hills, Ohio
(visible from River Road
). It was built in the 1890s by Feargus B. Squire
for use as the gatekeeper's house for his future country estate, which was never built. Squire, a founder of Standard Oil Company, bought the surrounding 525 acres (212.5 ha) of land but never completed the project. Squire sold the property in 1922 and the Cleveland Metroparks
acquired it in 1925.
Today Squire's Castle is open to the public free-of-admission. In 2008 the structure still had a roof, the interior was bare and open to the elements, and second story no longer had a floor. The Willoughby Hills Public Library annually holds a history seminar there. The surrounding park offers a footpath, riding trails, cooking grills, and a large grassy field.
The second edition of The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History describes Squire's Castle as "a picturesque castellated and turreted ruin"; it goes on to note that "seriously vandalized and deteriorated, ...[r]enovations in 1995 included painting the ground floor of the castle with a waxed coating to deter vandalism."
Squire's Castle has now acquired a sense of mystery. It is purportedly haunted by Squire's wife, Rebecca. The urban legend
tells of her tripping and breaking her neck in the castle, but in reality, she died in Wickliffe, Ohio
, in 1929, after the property was sold.
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
located in the North Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
Metroparks
Cleveland Metroparks
Cleveland Metroparks is an extensive system of nature preserves in Greater Cleveland, Ohio. The various reservations, which largely encircle the city of Cleveland, tend to follow the rivers and creeks that flow through the region...
in Willoughby Hills, Ohio
Willoughby Hills, Ohio
Willoughby Hills is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 8,595 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Willoughby Hills is located at ....
(visible from River Road
Ohio State Route 174
State Route 174 is a long north–south state highway in the northeastern quadrant of the U.S. state of Ohio. The highway runs from its southern terminus at a T-intersection with Old Mill Road in a quiet residential neighborhood in the eastern Cleveland suburb of Gates Mills to its...
). It was built in the 1890s by Feargus B. Squire
Feargus B. Squire
Feargus B. Squire , was an executive with the Standard Oil Company and former mayor of Wickliffe, Ohio.Born near Exeter, England, Squire came to America at the age of ten. Beginning as an office boy for an oil company, he later built and operated his own refinery. By 1885, he had joined Standard...
for use as the gatekeeper's house for his future country estate, which was never built. Squire, a founder of Standard Oil Company, bought the surrounding 525 acres (212.5 ha) of land but never completed the project. Squire sold the property in 1922 and the Cleveland Metroparks
Cleveland Metroparks
Cleveland Metroparks is an extensive system of nature preserves in Greater Cleveland, Ohio. The various reservations, which largely encircle the city of Cleveland, tend to follow the rivers and creeks that flow through the region...
acquired it in 1925.
Today Squire's Castle is open to the public free-of-admission. In 2008 the structure still had a roof, the interior was bare and open to the elements, and second story no longer had a floor. The Willoughby Hills Public Library annually holds a history seminar there. The surrounding park offers a footpath, riding trails, cooking grills, and a large grassy field.
The second edition of The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History describes Squire's Castle as "a picturesque castellated and turreted ruin"; it goes on to note that "seriously vandalized and deteriorated, ...[r]enovations in 1995 included painting the ground floor of the castle with a waxed coating to deter vandalism."
Squire's Castle has now acquired a sense of mystery. It is purportedly haunted by Squire's wife, Rebecca. The urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
tells of her tripping and breaking her neck in the castle, but in reality, she died in Wickliffe, Ohio
Wickliffe, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there are 13,484 people, 5,604 households, 3,754 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,898.2 people per square mile . There are 5,787 housing units at an average density of 1,243.8 per square mile...
, in 1929, after the property was sold.
External links
- Pictures of Squires Castle
- Article on Squire's Castle from sunnews.com (via the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
) - Local ABC news affiliate's page about the haunting
- Prairie Ghosts page on the Squire's Castle haunting
- Dead Ohio's page on Squire's Castle, including quite a few pictures
- PDF brochure from the Cleveland Metroparks including info on Squire's Castle