Sharp's Travels

It rained all night and we thought it might stop by noon, but it continued to rain all day.
After we had a bite of lunch, we decided to try and forget about the nasty weather and head for East Haddam and check out Gillette Castle State Park.
We had quite a time getting there. We ran into a big traffic jam on I-95 for about 8 miles.
Gillette Castle is a site to see. William Gillette, noted actor, director and playwright, built a 24 room mansion reminiscent of a medieval castle on his 124 acre estate. It is built of local fieldstone supported by a steel framework. It took 5 years to build. It was completed in 1919 at a cost of $1,000,000.
The woodwork within the castle is hand-hewn southern oak. Of the 47 doors within the structure, there are no 2 exactly alike.
We could tour all 3 floors of the castle. The tiffany lights were beautiful. The stone fireplaces were beautiful. The furnishings were original to the house. Even light switches were made of wood. He had mirrors strategically placed so he could be upstairs and see who entered the house or who may be abusing the liquor at the bar.
He also had a narrow gage railroad around the 123 acres. He had two locomotives, one electric and one steam powered.
After his death the property went to his family, but they could not afford to keep it so in 1943 the State of Connecticut bought the property for $30,000 and opened it for the enjoyment of present and future generations.
We took the ferry on the way home, one way trip for $3.00.
We enjoyed checking it all out.
We stopped for pizza on our way home.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day. See album: Gillette Castle