You might be surprised to know you don’t have to travel all the way to Europe to see old castles. In fact, there are many historic castles located in America.
These castles were built all across America and some were built as early as the 17th century but most were built during the 19th century.
The following is a list of the oldest castles in America:
Bacon Castle (1665)
Bacon Castle in Surry, Virginia is considered to be the oldest castle in America and the oldest brick building in North America.
The castle is a rare example of High Jacobean architecture and it is one of only three surviving Jacobean great houses west of the Atlantic.
The castle was built for Arthur Allen and was originally known as Allen’s Brick House until 1676 when it earned the nickname “Bacon’s Castle” after several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home during the uprising known as Bacon’s Rebellion.
The house was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 9, 1960 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It was added to the Virginia Landmark Register on September 9, 1969.
Bowman Castle (1789)
Bowman Castle in Brownsville, Pennsylvania is considered to be the oldest Gothic Revival castle in the United States.
Also known as Nemacolin Castle, the castle started as a log cabin built by Jacob Bowman in 1789. The cabin was replaced with a single-room stone house in 1805 but Bowman kept the original chimney, which still remains a part of the house today.
The house was expanded in 1822 to three stories and then enlarged again in 1857 complete with a crenelated Gothic Revival turret. A bracketed, gable-roofed study was added around 1875 and two brick towers were built in 1895.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 3, 1975. The house is now a historic house museum and is open for tours.
Melrose Castle (1860)
Melrose Castle in Casanova, Virginia, is a historic house built between 1856 and 1860.
The house is a Gothic Revival-style house with battlemented stone walls and a center tower. The castle is built out of light brown fieldstones quarried from the surrounding property. It was built for Dr. James H. Murray of Maryland and was named Melrose after Murray’s ancestral home, Melrose Abbey, in Scotland.
In 1862, the Murray family abandoned Melrose Castle when it became occupied by Federal troops during the Battle of Auburn in the Civil War. One of the soldiers later inscribed a note to the home’s owner inside a closet, which read:
“Dear Sir, I think you would have saved the destruction of your beautiful house by remaining at it. I am much pained to see so fine a place destroyed.”
The Murray family never returned and later sold the property to a local city councilman. It has since changed hands many times and is currently still privately owned.
The house was added to the Virginia Landmark Register on September 5, 1981 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 10, 1983.
Beardslee Castle (1860)
Beardslee Castle in Little Falls, New York is a replica of an Irish castle.
The castle was built for Augustus Beardslee out of limestone quarried from the surrounding property. The stones were hand cut by stonemasons who had been brought over from Switzerland.
The building was heavily damaged during two fires, one in 1919 and another in 1989, and was extensively renovated as a result. In 1991, the building reopened as a restaurant.
Iviswold (1869)
Iviswold in Rutherford, New Jersey is a historic house that resembles a 16th century French chateau.
The house was built for local businessman Floyd W. Tomkins, who called it Hill House, and is a three-story stone house.
In 1887, the house was purchased by publisher David B. Ivison who renovated it and constructed European-inspired towers, gables and a piazza, essentially turning it into a modern American castle.
In 1997, the house was purchased by the Fairleigh Dickinson University who currently use it as office space and a function hall.
The house was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on June 18, 2004 and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 4, 2004.
Glen Eyrie (1871)
Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs, Colorado is an English Tudor-style castle.
The house was built for Civil War General William Jackson Palmer, who was the founder of Colorado Springs, and was designed by architect Frederick Sterner.
The house originally had 22 rooms but was remodeled in 1881 to include a tower, 24 fireplaces and additional rooms and was made to resemble a stone castle. It currently has 67 rooms, a great hall, two dining rooms and a carriage house.
In 1953, the house was purchased by a Christian organization called the Navigators. The house is open to the public for tours and is available to rent for private events.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 21, 1975.
Winnekenni Castle (1875)
Winnekenni Castle in Haverhill, Massachusetts is a historic house in the 700-acre Winnekenni Park Conservation Area.
The castle was built as a summer home for chemist Dr. James R. Nichols who named it “Winnekenni,” which is an Algonquin word meaning “very beautiful.”
Designed by architect C. Willis Damon, the house is 35,000-cubic feet in size and is built out of roughly-split granite glacial boulders and features two towers and a small rooftop turret.
In 1885, Dr. Nichols sold the castle and a parcel of land to a relative, William G. Webb, who added a new wing to the building. About 10 years later, in 1895, the city of Haverhill purchased the property from Webb and turned it into the city’s first public park.
The castle is available to rent for private events and is occasionally open to the public during special events.
Dunham Castle (1880)
Dunham Castle in Wayne, Illinois is a historic house located on Oaklawn Farm.
The castle was built for Mark Wentworth Dunham and integrates French chateau designs with modern American architectural trends.
In 1953, Dunham Castle was renovated and turned into an apartment building, featuring four apartments. In 1987, it was sold again and converted back into a single-family residence.
The castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 26, 1979.
Hazard Castle (1884)
Hazard Castle in Narragansett, Rhode Island is a historic house with a tall stone tower. The house is a 2½-story Neo-Gothic stone house with gable-roofed
ells and conical-roofed polygonal towers as well as an additional 105-foot-tall stone tower.
The house itself was built for Joseph Peace Hazard in 1846 while the tower was built in 1884 and was reportedly constructed so Hazard, who was a spiritualist, could more easily communicate with his deceased ancestors.
In 1951, the Providence Catholic Diocese bought the property from the Hazard family as a retreat. It is now home to Middlebridge School, a private boarding school for children with learning difficulties.
Berkley Castle (1885)
Berkeley Castle in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia is a late Victorian-style house.
The house was built for Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit and was designed by architects Alfred B. Mullen and Ashford Snowden.
The castle is a 15-room mansion built from locally sourced rock-faced stones and features a great hall, a ballroom, a library, three bedrooms and a three-story stone tower.
The Taylor family was forced to sell the house due to financial hardships in 1916. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1980.
The house has served many uses over the years, as a museum, a retreat and a boys camp, before being purchased and restored by Andrew Gosline in 2002. It is now privately owned and is available to rent for private events.
For more historic structures in America, check out this article on the oldest forts in America and the oldest buildings in America.
Sources:
Annual Report of the Parks Commissioner of the City of Haverhill Massachusetts. The Welch Press, 1907.
“History.” Berkley Springs Castle, berkeleyspringscastle.com/about/
“Hazard Castle.” Pier Walking Tours, pierwalkingtours.org/treasures/hazard-castle.html
“Hazard Castle 1846” Buildings of New England, buildingsofnewengland.com/2020/04/08/hazard-castle-1846/
“Visit Glen Eyrie Castle.” Visit CO, visitcos.com/things-to-do/attractions/glen-eyrie-castle/
“Photos: 19th century castle gets multimillion dollar makeover at Felician College.” NJ.com, nj.com/bergen/2013/03/photos_19th_century_castle_gets_multimillion_dollar_makeover_at_felician_college.html
“Beardslee Castle.” Historic Buildings of Herkimer County herkimer.nygenweb.net/manheim/beardslee.html
McPherson, Erin. “Lonely Castle Seeks Forever Family.” Virginia Living, virginialiving.com/uncategorized/melrose/
“Melrose.” Department of Historic Resources, dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/030-0070/
“Bacon Castle.” Preservation Virginia, preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/bacons-castle/
“Third Oldest in USA.” Nemacolin Castle, nemacolincastle.net/3rd-oldest-in-usa
“Bowman’s Castle.” Historical Marker Database, hmdb.org/m.asp?m=200774
“Nemacolin Castle (Jacob Bowman House).” SAH Archipedia, https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/PA-01-FA12