A(nother) New England Castle

If you've been reading this blog awhile you already know that we enjoy visiting castles. No, we haven't travelled abroad (sigh) all our castle-ventures have been here in New England. Who knew these treasures were only a few hours away? We know and now you do as well.

Our previous castle ventures were within NH and MA, no more than 2-1/2 hours drive time.

Several New England "castles"

In late 2020, we visited three local castles. Madame Sherri's Castle in Chesterfield, NH. An elaborate 3-story party house built in the woods in the 1920s where NY costume designer Antionette Sherri hosted elaborate parties. Bancroft's Castle built on a hilltop in Groton, MA, in 1906 by William Bancroft as a lavish turn-of-the-century retirement estate. Hammond Castle in Gloucester, MA, built from 1926-1929 as the home and laboratory of John Hays Hammond, Jr., an inventor and pioneer in the study or remote control. The first two are now in ruins, destroyed through fire and vandalism. The last is now a museum.

Each of their respective owners considered their home as their castle, doesn't everyone? 

Our latest castle venture was a 3-day stay at the Norumbega Inn in Camden, ME, a 3-hour drive from Nashua, NH, the farthest castle-venture to date. This short trip was to co-celebrate my recent birthday and was a pre-Hearts Day celebration, any excuse reason for a short trip these days.

Norumbega Inn B&B, Camden, ME

Unlike those previous ones, we were able to stay overnight in this one. As the only guests one night, we actually had the run of the castle. This getaway co-celebrated my recent birthday and was our pre-Hearts Day celebration.

Vintage postcards of Norumbega and Penobscot Bay

The Norumbega Inn was formerly the home of inventor Joseph Barker Stearns, who had it built from 1886-1887 to resemble a European castle. Like many castles, the Norumbega sits atop a rise. This one overlooks Penobscot Bay. The 10,330 square foot Victorian was one of mid-coast Maine's most elaborate 19th-century houses.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, it's now a bed and breakfast inn.

Joseph B. Stearns

Stearns, a native of Weld, ME patented duplex telegraphy and licensed it worldwide. He studied at a Newburyport, MA, firm and later became office manager. In 1854, he worked at the Fire Alarm Telegraph Company, Boston, MA, and from 1855 to 1869 was superintendent of the company. Stearns was the first to take out patents on the use of reversed currents in connection with the fire alarm signal system. 

He was president of the Franklin Telegraph Co. from 1869-1871 where he invented the first practical duplex telegraphy system. This system allowed two messages to be sent over the wire at the same time. Before the invention of the telephone, the telegraph was the main method of communication. The problem was that messages could only travel down a wire one at a time. Stearns solved that dilemma. This one invention secured his fortune. Stearns sold rights to the Western Union Telegraph and Cable Companies. He also received royalties from governments in England, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Russia and India.

Prototype of duplex telegraph

After selling his invention, Stearns traveled throughout Europe working on business projects for Western Union. His estate was influenced by historic castles he saw in these travels. Retiring in 1885, he bought a tract of land in Camden, then had Norumbega designed and built. He lived there a decade before his death on July 4, 1895.

Norumbega estate and grounds, Camden, ME

Designed by NYC architect Arthur Bates, the home featured a stone and wood facade. It's no surprise that the house (like all good castles) had a turret. The center section rises three stories, and is topped by a stepped gable. The right section has a projecting section topped by a turret.

Oak woodwork in Norumbega

The elaborately finished wood-laden interior had the latest innovations in modern homes of the period such as electric lights and steam heat. This beautiful and intricate woodwork was seen throughout the house.

Main sitting room at Norumbega

The common rooms on the first floor has a main sitting room with a fireplace, grand piano, also a  reading area supplied with books and games. There's a breakfast room and formal dining room, and fireplaces in each room. 

Staircase, sitting area, basement game, sun room

A basement area has guest rooms plus a common room game and entertainment area. There’s several decks for outdoor seating in warmer weather. Rooms are on the second and third floors. 

Norumbega Inn bedrooms

Penthouse suite

The Norumbega Inn has 11 guest rooms (including two suites) on the second and third floors. Each room is unique with its own style and layout. The Library Suite was the home's library and still has books which can be borrowed by guests on an upper level. The uppermost floor has a single Penthouse suite complete with a winding staircase, large sitting room and bay windows with a water view. 

Norumbega reportedly contained a library of 10,000 volumes, and a renowned pottery collection which was exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. His collection of carved ivories was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.

Sunrise views during our stay

Our room on the third floor also overlooked Penobscot Bay. We were awakened to beautiful sunrises like these during our stay.

Early New England map (Internet)

The name Norumbega comes with its own unusual history. According to local legends, it was the name of a magnificent city on the banks of the Penobscot River in the 16th century. 

European explorers told tales of a place where the native Indians were adorned with furs, silver and gold. The legend persisted throughout the 17th century and many early maps referred to all or New England as Norumbega.

The earliest recorded history of the name Norumbega is a similar word spelled Oranbega in Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano's 1529 map of America. The word is thought to derive from one of the Algonquian languages spoken in New England. It could mean quiet place between the rapids or quiet stretch of water.

After Stearns' death, Norumbega remained a private residence for nearly 100 years with several owners in that time. In 1984, it was sold and converted to a B&B. In 1987, it was sold again and run as an inn through the 1990s. After the death of an owner, ownership transferred to the estate's trustees. It continued as an inn until 2005, then was vacant for several years. The current owners renovated and reopened on Memorial Day weekend 2013.

Sagamore Farms, image from collection of Camden, ME, Public Library

Sagamore Farms was a large cattle farm that Stearns owned in Camden. He bought additional tracts of land and operated a large cattle farm that he and his son managed. It was worked by various local families who knew about the dairy farm business. There's no records on how long it ran as a dairy. The buildings survived a 1912 fire, but were completely destroyed in 1932 and the area has largely reverted to woodland. 

Us at Norumbega Inn, Jeep on flatbed, & our rental car

This getaway adventure started off in a rather unsettling way because about 2 hours from our destination, the oil lamp lit up on my 2007 Jeep Liberty. This is never a good thing to happen especially when the car manual advises not to drive the vehicle as further damage could occur. (Did I mention we were a couple hours from our destination?)

All turned out better than expected. The Jeep dealership we use in Nashua, NH, provided the name of a dealership close to our location (York, ME). AAA towed the Jeep and gave us a ride too. Enterprise car rental delivered a minivan (175 miles on odometer) to the dealership. We used it  for 2 days and picked up the Jeep on our way home. The auto problem was a faulty oil receptacle lamp, thankfully not an oil pump issue; it's running fine now.

Be It Ever So Humble . . .

Hammond Castle, Gloucester, MA

There's no place like home. And, if your home resembles a castle, even better especially if it reigns majestic on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

An alternate title to this post could have been A Man's Castle is His Home especially if your name was John Hays Hammond, Jr., as the above photo shows his home designed as a castle in the 1920s. It's in New England, less than a 40-minute from our home in Nashua, NH.

During October and November, we took several day trips to see homes dubbed castles by their owners. In October, we trekked to a forest in West Chesterfield, NH to see the remains of Madame Sherri's Castle. In early November, we climbed a Groton, MA, hilltop to see what remains of Bancroft's Castle, a former cottage with a turret feature. Both of these sites had been ravaged by fires. All that remained at one was a famous arching staircase, at another, a turret, massive fireplaces and stonework.

Hammond Castle is entirely different. For starters, it was purposely built to look like a European castle, plus this one is fully intact with no fire or other damage and interior furnishings. This castle-home was built in the mid-1920s by John Hays Hammond, Jr., a scientist, inventor and art connoisseur on the New England shoreline overlooking the Gloucester, MA, harbor. 

We visited Hammond Castle on probably our last day trip for a while. Travel restrictions are now in place between MA and NH. Also, it's the holiday season and we're spending time at home, like so many others. (We're looking forward to it as it's the first holiday season home in years.)

Currently, the castle operates as the Hammond Castle Museum. It was formerly the personal residence of Hammond and his wife, the former Irene Fenton Reynolds. Upon their deaths, and without any heirs, the residence was transformed into a museum that's open to the public and is the site of special events. Unlike our previous castle visits, this one has an admission charge. Also, it's not handicap accessible with many a lot of steps and very narrow spiral stairways. 

The castle was built between 1926 to 1929 as a showplace for Hammond's collection of Roman, Medieval, and Renaissance artifacts. Appropriate to its contents, it consists of 15th to 18th century architectural elements such as curving steps, narrow doorways and arches. 

Daily News (NY) cover story on castle construction

The house was also Hammond's business office and home of the Hammond Research Corporation. Hammond, a pioneer in the study of remote control, is referred to as The Father of Radio Control. His pioneering developments in electronic remote control became the foundation for modern radio remote control devices, including modern missile guidance systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, and unmanned combat aerial vehicle. Hammond is credited with over 800 foreign and domestic patents on more than 400 inventions mostly in the fields of radio control and naval weaponry (the exact number is uncertain due to how credit was listed on the forms).

Hammond knew Thomas Edison personally. At age 12, he accompanied his wealthy father, John Hammond, Sr. on a business trip to Edison's West Orange, NJ, laboratory asking so many questions that Edison gave him a tour and later became his mentor. The two remained in contact for the rest of Edison’s life. In later years, while studying at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, Hammond became interested in the new study of radio waves and was mentored by Alexander Graham Bell. As with Edison, the two remained friends until Bell’s death.

Invention Room

After his 1910 graduation from Yale, Hammond took a job in the U.S. Patent Office. He had learned from Edison that inventing could be a money-making proposition, and he figured there was no better place to learn which scientific fields were on the cutting edge. Becoming proficient in the patent process, he founded his own research laboratory and, in time, became second only to Edison for the most invention patents filed.

Assorted castle doorways

A passionate traveler, Hammond loved all things European and historic having been exposed to the art and architecture of olden Europe thanks to his father's career as a mining engineer magnate. During our tour, we learned that, at an early age, he told his parents that he would live in a castle one day. 

Round library

Hammond called his medieval-style castle, Abbadia Mare, and, like any self-respecting castle, it included a drawbridge but no moat. It also featured a great hall, renaissance dining room, round library, a war room, secret passageways and an indoor courtyard and pool. 

Castle drawbridge

Because Hammond appreciated the eras spanning ancient times, he wanted his castle to be medieval in style with large stone archways, windows, wooden facades, and other architectural elements from the "Old World" bridging several periods through sixteenth century architectural elements. 

Coincidentally, his castle project came to the attention of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who had also purchased a large collection of medieval artifacts. Inspired by Hammond, Rockefeller launched a similar project on a site above Manhattan that would eventually include pieces from five different European abbeys. Today, that site is The Cloisters, an arm of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Courtyard doorways

His collection of 15th Century facades was housed in the courtyard to meet Hammond’s vision of what a medieval village might resemble. It was pieced together from buildings he collected on his travels including a meat market, wine merchant’s house, and an ancient church archway of carved lava from Mt. Vesusvius

Courtyard pool

Since the indoor courtyard included tropical plants, an indoor pool was added to ensure a suitable level of humidity and steam pipes were put around the bottom of the pool to control water temperature. A green dye, added as a decorative feature, hid the depth of the water, which was actually a swimming pool. Hammond could set a "weather control" system to water the vegetation and he was known to leap cannonball style from a second story window into the courtyard pool. 

Guest bedrooms on 2nd floor

The house was an expression of all things that Hammond treasured. It showcased his fabulous collection of antiques and his inventions, but some unusual additions, including a skull reportedly of a sailor who crewed with Christopher Columbus. (We missed seeing this treasure.)

Great Hall in Hammond Castle

The most impressive part of the house is the Great Hall, with its eight-story high, pipe organ and giant stained glass window. The gigantic pipe organ was designed and built by a collection of world-famous organ builders over 10 years.  

Pipe organ in Great Hall

Consisting of 8,400 pipes it was among the largest pipe organs in the world and included many features of Hammond’s 19 patents for pipe organ technology. As much as he enjoyed the organ, Hammond couldn't play it. He invented a device included within the console which could record what was being played, so it could be accurately replayed. The organ was a centerpiece of entertainment and renowned organists, such as Richard Ellsasser and Virgil Fox, performed and made commercial recordings on it. We learned that it's no longer in operating condition.

He is not the man who invented the organ of the same name. The inventor of that instrument, first manufactured in 1935, was Laurens Hammond (1895-1973). Coincidentally, Laurens Hammond was also an American engineer and inventor whose inventions also include the Hammond clock and the Novachord, the world's first polyphonic musical synthesizer. In the 1970s, the Hammond Organ Company abandoned tone wheels and switched to integrated circuits. These organs were less popular, and the company went out of business in 1985. The Hammond name is now owned by the Suziki Musical Instrument Corporation. 

John Hays Hammond, Jr. and statue

Hammond died in 1965, but castle visitors can come face to face with him – and with other parts as well during their visit. That's because he had a life-size statue of himself cast. Currently, it resides in the pool courtyard. Years ago it was outside the castle and we learned that Mrs. Hammond had the fig leaf added on.

Hammond Castle Museum is in its 45th consecutive season. In past years, it was visited by over 35,000 people from across the U.S. and foreign countries. 

The castle has appeared on the A&E network program, American Castles. Over the years, the castle has also been the location for the mid 1960s to 1970s TV show, Bewitched, and Otto Preminger’s film, Tell Me You Love Me Julie Moon. It has also been the setting for numerous television commercials and specials.

Access to all parts of the castle was limited during our tour, which was guided for the first part and unguided the rest of the 60-minute timed visit.

Precautions were in place and masks were required while we were inside the castle.

The vintage December 1932 magazine article below was in the lobby of Hammond Castle Museum. It states that visitors could see the castle in the mornings from June to October at a cost of 50 cents to view art and architecture gathered from all over Europe. The article said that in the afternoons, the castle marvelous was given back to its owner.

Times have changed as the admission charge for our timed visit was $15 each (senior discount). Regular adult rate is $18 and children 5 10 12 are $10, those under 4 years are admitted free.

A General's Hilltop Castle

We’ve been on a castle hunt and as European travel is out for who knows how long, we've stayed closer to home, right here in New England. Several weeks ago we visited the remains of Madame Sherri's Castle Sherri, in West Chesterfield, NH, 90 minutes from Nashua.

A shorter 30 minute drive took us to Groton, MA, in search of a castle on Gibbet Hill. Just like in that previous expedition, what we found didn't really begin as a castle. 

Bancroft's castle, as it's now called, is named after General William Amos Bancroft, the Groton native who built it in 1906. Bancroft rose to the rank of brigadier general during the Spanish-American War and had previously served in the Massachusetts militia. 

A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he made his fortune in transportation. First, as superintendent of the Cambridge Street Railway, then as the first president of the West End Street Railway, which later became the Boston Elevated Railway. Bancroft oversaw the implementation of electric trolleys while there. Later, he returned to his law practice and politics, serving on the Cambridge Board of Aldermen and served as mayor of Cambridge in the 1890s.

Shawfieldmont (Groton, MA, Historical Society)

Despite his years away from Groton, Bancroft returned to build his retirement home on the summit of Gibbet Hill, calling it Shawfieldmont. Construction began (and ended) with the bungalow and tower shown above. Rocks were hauled from all over Groton to construct the tower and stonework was done by a crew of Italian masons. Despite the ravages of time and New England weather, the tower remains in remarkably good condition today.

Unfortunately, before Bancroft's project advanced to construction of the large mansion and horse stables he envisioned, the money ran out.

Bancroft kept the property for 12 years before selling it to Harold Ayers, a well-known physician, in 1918. Ayers converted the bungalow into the Groton Private Hospital, a private sanatorium which accepted “all but insane or contagious” patients for $20 per week. During 

Boston Sunday Globe

the 1920s, patients would take in spectacular views on long open porches while suffering through ailments including tuberculosis. The hospital was advertised as unique with absolute quiet, pure air and a home atmosphere. It embraced the open air treatments popular during that time. 

Dr. Ayres cared for patients and ran a farm on the hill. After WW I, he treated veterans through a newly-funded insurance program. In 1920, a new building was built and 65 patients were in residence.

The sanatorium closed down toward the end of the decade and by the early 1930s it was gone. The property then transitioned from private hospital to social center, as the Groton Hunt Club used it to host fox hunts, dances, and social events.

Lowell Sun, 1932

Those festivities were also short-lived and ended in July 1932 after trespassers got careless with some firecrackers during a July 4th celebration and tossed a firecracker onto the bungalow roof. The bungalow caught fire and burnt down leaving only the stone walls and tower standing. It was never rebuilt. 

The estate lies on conservation land. The castle and trails became part of Groton's protected open space in 2000 when the site was opened to the public. The paths leading up to the castle and at the top of the hill are maintained, but the hike is a bit steep, narrow and quite rocky in areas. 

There's no cost to wander and inspect the tower, great double hearth and stone walls. The ruins are also a venue for wedding ceremonies in conjunction with the nearby Gibbet Hill Grill. One was being set up the day of our visit. Luckily, we had already finished exploring the site.

The hill itself has an interesting backstory especially in this season of ghosts and goblins. 

In 1645, it was named for the English gibbet, another word for gallows. Stories circulated about public executions where criminals were hanged so citizens could see the penalty of crime. 

While the legends and rumors have persisted over the years, no evidence has been found of any hilltop executions. It's more widely accepted that the name was from Groton’s English settlers who settled there in the 17th century.

Not only are these ruins quite amazing to see, the hilltop is also a great place to take in views of Groton, Mt. Wachusett, and, on very clear days, the White Mountains of NH.

It's interesting to us as NJ natives and former residents, that there's always a Jersey connection as shown on this plate spotted when leaving.

A Castle in NH Woods?

(Very) former front entry of Castle Sherri

Many people regard their home as a castle, don't they?

And, while the chances of finding the remains of a "castle" in a wooded area in the Southwest corner of NH seems improbable, it's not impossible.

Exactly what we thought so after reading stories and seeing online photos, we set on a 90-minute day trip to an off the main road forest in West Chesterfield, NH, to locate what Madame Antoinette Sherri called her house, Castle Sherri — we succeeded in our quest.

Castle Sherri circa 1930s

As you can readily see, this wooded forest retreat, shown as it originally existed above, wasn't really a castle, but an elegantly proportioned house built by an eccentric NYC costume designer who is said to have entertained with lavish parties in the 1930s. It's most notable feature was (and still is) the stone spiral staircase which ascended to the second floor. This architectural detail remains a lone reminder of the house’s former glory days.

Finding this place was quite an adventure. We wondered how years ago guests ever made the  off-road trek into the forest. Our highway drive was followed by a turn-off then drive on gravel and dirt roads and we passed the forest entry at least once (maybe twice) then saw a sign for “Mme. Sherri Forest” in a small parking area. 

An information kiosk at the end of the parking area, before the start of the trail provided a wealth of information and photos. Many of these photos were from the Chesterfield, NH Historical Society and available on line. They have been included in this post for purposes of telling the very intriguing and interesting story of the who, what, where and when of this place.

After checking out the very informative information kiosk, we crossed a wooden footbridge then headed in the direction of the Madame Sherri Forest. Many years ago, this bridge was most made of stone as evidenced by the remains of a wall and stone posts. After a short walk in the woods, we saw the ruins, which can't be missed.

What's astounding is to see this massive, arched stone stairway that curves upward and ends in mid-air. These remains of what was a grand spiral staircase that ascended to the second floor was the most notable feature of a house designed by its owner, Madame Antoinette Sherri, for comfort and entertainment. Now, it's a deteriorating reminder of the former glory of this place.

Nearly 50 years after Madame Sherri's death, the legend remains. Whether or not the tales of her wild late-night forest parties are true is uncertain, as there's no one alive to verify the tales. Yet, they've provided great story fodder for many years that continues even now.

Who was the Mysterious Madame Antoinette Sherri?

Antonia De Lilas

Madame Sherri was born Antoinette Bramare in 1878 in Paris, and trained as a seamstress. Later she assumed the name of Antonia De Lilas changing her career to become a popular music hall performer. She sang and danced in some of the most well-known clubs in France.

Andre Riela & Madame Antoinette Sherri

In 1909, she met a man calling himself Andre Riela, an American-born conman named Anthony Macaluso, who had fled to Europe to dodge an extortion charge. He found work as an actor and dancer in Paris. They married in Puerto Rico returning to NYC in 1911. Macaluso was a fugitive, so an elaborate ruse was devised that he was the son of a prominent Italian diplomat. The ruse worked, they were accepted into NY society and Macaluso resumed dancing under the name Andre Riela. Antoinette opened a millinery shop on 42nd Street and designed costumes for Broadway productions and theatrical revues.

Madame Sherri and Ziegfeld costume designs

By 1916, Antoinette wanted a new name to promote the business, selecting, House of Sherri after Madame Sherry, a French vaudeville act staged in NYC as a musical show. She and Andre became known as Mr. and Madame Sherri (the names Riela and DeLilas no longer used). The House of Sherri became known for elaborate and ornate costume designs for NYC productions, notably the Ziegfeld Follies. This was during Prohibition when people were going to shows, not bars. In the next eight years, the couple became very successful.

Charles LeMaire

During one of their biggest hits, Frivolities of 1920, Antoinette began what was to become a long-term connection with Charles LeMaire, a Chicago vaudeville pianist and actor who wanted a career in costume design. 

LeMaire moved to NYC in 1921 became Antoinette's protege and soon was working with Flo Ziegfeld. By 1925, his success took him to Hollywood where he was employed first by 20th Century Fox. LeMaire was later credited with convincing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to create an Oscar for costume design. In a 37-year career and over 300 films, he earned 3 Academy Awards and 13 nominations. LeMaire later became Antoinette's financial benefactor. (She claimed that she had adopted LeMaire, which was untrue.) Yet, there’s no doubt that LeMaire's early NYC career with Antoinette led to his future Hollywood success.

Andre & Sherri in Puerto Rico after their marriage

In 1924, Andre went blind, then insane and died 3 years later at the age of 27. He was at least a decade or more younger than his wife and his early death devastated Antoinette. She designed costumes for a few years, sometimes with LeMaire before closing her NYC shop in 1930. Later, she spent summers visiting stage friend Jack Henderson and regularly attended his extravagant parties held in Chesterfield, NH, before deciding to leave NYC and permanently relocate to NH.

Castle Sherri as it once stood in West Chesterfield, NH

In 1929, she became a NH resident and by 1930 had purchased 600 acres of West Chesterfield farmland and forest on Gulf Road. By 1931, with LeMaire providing the finances, Sherri started building. She brought in stonecutters from neighboring MA and without blueprints or plans designed the house by walking the lot and putting down stakes. Local contractors reportedly found her hard to work with claiming she would hover and constantly change her mind, but the one-of-a-kind house was eventually completed.

Front entry steps then and now

The uniquely styled and named Castle Sherri resembled a French chateau of NH stone with a chalet roof and a Roman ruin with arches. Vintage photos show that the two and a half story house had a pitched roof, stone on the bottom, clapboard on the top floor and a top floor, surrounded by a wrap-around deck. The main floor had a large bar area between 2 trees that grew through the roof. Portraits adorned the walls. Furnishings included Persian rugs, a polar bear rug, Buddhas, player piano, Italian pottery and brocaded tapestries. Two upstairs bedrooms had mirror-lined bathrooms. The third floor was Sherri’s private quarters accessible only by the stone staircase running alongside the building. The cellar was a bistro/dining grotto with six tables covered with red tablecloths.

The stone arched stairway alongside Castle Sherri

The exterior staircase was hewn from ledge rock with stone flower boxes that once held red and white flowers with three rounded arches facing the front of the house. The main stairs were cut into the rock ledge and led to a massive red front door. 

The theatrically staged house was only used for entertaining; it wasn't her residence. She lived in a small run-down farmhouse elsewhere on the property. Well-dressed NYC male and female socialites and show business friends were reported to attend these summer events. Madame Sherri reigned and held court on The Queen’s Throne, a carved cobra-backed chair. She chain-smoked Fatima-brand cigarettes and proudly boasted of using a single match to light only the first one. She was known for making a grand entrances garbed in sequined gowns with a feather-plumed headdress or makeshift turban. Her costumes included strands of pearls and jewelry, most of which was stage paste.

1927 Packard of Madame Sherri

Madame Sherri's lifestyle became the talk of the area, most of which as farmland back then. According to online stories, she delighted in shocking merchants. Local lore is that she wore a large fur coat, with nothing else on and paid for everything in cash, pulled either from a garter belt strapped to her thigh or her cleavage. After buying a 1927 cream-colored Packard, she had its wheels painted bright red, hiring uniformed young men to chauffeur her around. She said that the car was built on commission for the Prince of Wales. (This wasn't true as the car had been purchased for $3,500 directly from Packard Motors.) 

Madame Sherri’s decline began shortly after WWII ended when LeMaire stopped sending funds that had subsidized her wild lifestyle for so long. Trying to remain afloat, she came up with many schemes, including turning the castle into a nightclub and selling mineral rights to the property. 

None of these worked out and by the late 1940s, Madame Sherri was indigent, relying on neighbors for food, firewood and transport. The Packard sat idle on her property. She spent time in VT before returning to NH in the spring of 1959 to find that the house had been burglarized and trashed and the front door ripped off. Madame Sherri fled from the house and never returned, moving into a nursing home in Brattleboro, VT. 

Three years later, disaster struck Castle Sherri again in late October 1962, when a fire ravaged it reducing it to the stone foundation visible now with collapses since then. In July 1963, Charles LeMaire foreclosed on the property. It later sold to local resident Ann Stokes who finalized a sheriff's sale purchase in October 1965, on the same day Madame Sherri died at age 87. For years, Stokes kept the legend of Castle Sherri and Madame Sherri alive by promoting concerts, performances and parties within the house ruins. In 1992, Stokes donated 488 acres of Madame Sherri Forest to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests which protects it today. There are numrous walking trails and no admission fee to hike or visit the ruins. 

Remains of Castle Sherri now

While the arches remain a favorite destination, the years and New England weather have taken their toll. As seen above, shifting and cracks can be spotted in the arches stone work. There are no handrails or columns on the steps and climbing them is strongly discouraged now. 

Our plans did not include climbing upward. We were just happy to have found and to explore the ruins and amazing staircase. However, I read that for years, visitors would ascend the stairs and claim to have seen the ghost of Madame Sherri. Bebes! who was rumored to exclaim to her arriving guests, Mes cheres! Please enter and enjoy yourselves!

Madame Sherri is buried in meeting House Cemetery, Brattleboro, VT. LeMaire died in 1985 in Palm Springs, CA, at age 86 after enjoying a career that was far more successful than that of his former mentor. The Packard auto sold for $7500 at auction in September 1963. Sherri’s farmhouse residence was later condemned and torn down. 

This was a longish post (as usual) but the subject matter was very interesting. And, if you live in New England or can visit NH some future time, a trip to find Castle Sherri would be well worth some time and effort. Grenville and I agreed the site was one of the more interesting ones we've seen on a day trip. But, it's not the last; this week a friend shared info about another castle site in neighboring MA, and it's on our list for a future day trip.

My apologies to fellow bloggers as I have not kept up with your posts on a daily basis. Some days (more than one), I spend way too much time preparing a post. Also there are other interests which grab my attention span, which is short enough. However, I always try catch up with your recent posts by the weekend. Thanks for your visits and comments on my own posts. All comments are read and are very much appreciated. I know that you have other interests as well.