The Tale of Squire's Castle

Squire's Castle, is located in the North Chagrin Reservation, in Willoughby Hills, Ohio, and is over 100 years old. It was built by Feargus B. Squire, a wealthy Standard Oil Company vice president, who came over from England. Squire and wife, Louisa, were married in 1854, lived in the Cleveland area..and back and forth to New York as jet setters, and other places as well, but always loved and returned Cleveland. In 1890, he bought 525 acres of land to build his Castle like Country Estate Home. The mini castle, was actually going to be the gatekeepers home. Squire used it on weekends for a getaway, and housed wonderful things, such as hunting trophies, a huge library, paintings and all kinds of items from his travels. His wife really preferred a more City setting for living, and mostly it was Squire and his daughter, who spent any time there. He retired in 1909 after some personal problems with Standard Oil and became depressed when he wife became ill and rarely visited his gatehouse getaway, nor started building his estate, for the materials he needed was becoming hard from him to find. He sold it in 1922 Soon, vandals and gangs would hang out in abandoned building, destroying what was there. In 1925 the Cleveland Metro Parks acquired it. His wife died from a stroke 1927 and Squire passed away in 1932. in 1996 the Metro Parks invested a great deal of money, into what has become known as Squire's Castle, and removed the floors, stairs, any glass, furnishings, filled in the basement, painted, cleaned and reinforced the structure to make presentable, and a safe environment for visitors and children to play! There are lovely paths that go into the forest and picnic areas. Since then, there have been many stories being told of his wife dying in the gate house castle, from some kind of accident, impaled by a weapon, gored by a mounted head, hung by a loose rope, etc. and that her ghost still walks the grounds with the red lantern she was said to be carrying during her bouts with insomnia.. If you type Squires Castle in any search engine, you will have an amusing time reading all these Tales of Squire's Castle!

said cybersherrie 2006.07.25 at 00:04:59 PDT

Thank you very much for this very edifying album and the very detailed description, I really enjoyed viewing this album. Thank you - Anup

said define2iota 2006.10.25 at 02:40:50 PDT

Congratulations on your feature today! Very nice album and story. I am going to have to run out there one day this summer and see the castle. Ken

said ckpiros 2007.04.13 at 01:37:37 PDT

Congratulations on being featured today.Very nice album and a great story,thanks for sharing.Enjoy your special day!Best regards,Henri and Josee/Belgium

said haneveercoremanssh... 2007.04.13 at 01:43:56 PDT

CONGRATULATIONS on being Featured today! Beautiful pics with excellent color and composition. Thanks for sharing! Best Regards from Spain, Manuel

said mdediego 2007.04.13 at 02:04:45 PDT

What an entertaining album this is. Congratulations on your feature. Well done and thank you for sharing. Enjoy your day. Greetings Marlene-Holland

said 22338 2007.04.13 at 03:31:39 PDT

Congratulations on being featured, thanks for sharing. Michel

said nttl2k2 2007.04.13 at 03:55:18 PDT

Congratulations on being featured today. I enjoyed the story as told through your photographs, and then reading the real story. Very cleverly done! Thanks and regards- Lynne from Virginia

said donolew 2007.04.13 at 04:00:50 PDT

Congratulations on your feature! Thank you for sharing not only this lovely photos but also a bit of this place history. It was very pleasing to read as i watched the pictures :)). Greetings from Portugal, Marina

said arina223 2007.04.13 at 04:20:14 PDT

Congratulations on being featured today with this interesting album! I enjoying visiting here. Greetings from Israel, Yair.

said ykarelic4 2007.04.13 at 04:28:45 PDT

Congratulations on your "Romantic yet Eerie story..." album - an interesting tale! Enjoy your day in the *spotlight* ... Judy aka L@dybug, FL

said ladybug591 2007.04.13 at 05:15:02 PDT

A most interesting story. There are other castles with similar storys. Congratulations on your Feature today.

said bearfolk 2007.04.13 at 05:25:53 PDT

Well done and thank you for the story/pictures. Congratulations on your feature of the day. Best wishes from Canada ~Vickie~

said vickie1945 2007.04.13 at 06:24:59 PDT

CONGRATULATIONS on having your 'Tale of Squire's Castle' album featured today on WS. Interesting album, thank you for sharing. Enjoy your day in the spot light. Joyce, California, USA

said joyce914 2007.04.13 at 06:30:27 PDT

Congratulations on being features, beautiful story and castle. Thanks for sharing. Estela from Brazil.

said estelax100 2007.04.13 at 07:52:30 PDT

What a fun album!! and a fun "history" lesson! Thanks so much!

said terisuz 2007.04.13 at 08:12:32 PDT

Beautiful. thank you, and right in our own back yard.

said dmwalsh_53 2007.04.13 at 08:29:49 PDT

Fun Fantasy and an Interesting place. Congratulations on your feature! ej/Texas

said rossflah 2007.04.13 at 08:50:29 PDT

What a wonderful album! Love it so much!

said karendenise1960 2007.04.13 at 09:06:28 PDT

Congratulations on your feature today! Very interesting, I really enjoyed the way you put the album together like a story book. Enjoy your special day in the spotlight :) Mandy in Oklahoma

said okcshady 2007.04.13 at 11:27:13 PDT

Thanks for sharing such an interesting story and album! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Congrats on the featured album! Smokykat

said smoky_kat 2007.04.13 at 13:46:25 PDT

Interesting story and album! Congatulations on being featured! Very well done! Enjoy your day in the spotlight! John:)

said 1JohnnyDe 2007.04.13 at 18:27:34 PDT

Enjoyed your pics and story rhymes - interesting tale. Congratulations on the feature today! ed in CO

said ezeddy100 2007.04.13 at 19:21:06 PDT

Oh this is very cool. Great album. Congrats on being featured today. Thanks for sharing. Darla

said Darlaree 2007.04.13 at 22:17:31 PDT

CONGRATULATIONS on being featured,a very well deserved feature too,beautiful pictures and great story,well taken,thank you for sharing them with us, take care Ann (Chester England)

said annedm1 2007.04.14 at 01:05:46 PDT

Ciao! Congratulation on being featured yesterday. Your album is beautiful and very interesting. Fantastic the castle and the place. Greetings, Renato/Italy.

said renato26 2007.04.14 at 03:10:38 PDT

THANK YOU for all the very kind compliments! As you can guess, I have always been a Dr. Suess fan...LOL I didn't even know it was featured, family birthday week..3 in a row! I hope you got a chance to browse thru some of my other photo albums. photography, traveling and adventures is such great fun, and sharing them with friends like you ...all around the world...making new friends! :-) Have a Great Day!

said cybersherrie 2007.04.14 at 09:09:47 PDT

Bonjour. Congratulations on being featured today. Very nice album, great photos. Thanks for sharing. Luc, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

said maxeclip 2007.04.16 at 01:21:46 PDT

Congratulations On Being Featured Today..JO JO

said jdsmith01100 2007.04.16 at 04:09:42 PDT

Great featured album! Love the story you include with your beautiful images, this makes for a much more interesting time and pleasure to view and learn. Congratulations on it being featured and thank you for sharing this tale with us here on WS. Very well done. Greetings from, OKLAHOMA. Susie

said segseven 2007.04.16 at 04:41:22 PDT

How interesting! Greetings from Canton.

said Samwh 2007.04.17 at 12:16:28 PDT