Squire's Castle is the remaining shell of a building now operated by the Cleveland Metroparks as part of the North Chagrin Reservation in Willoughby Hills, Ohio.

Construction of the building

Feargus B. Squire was a Standard Oil Company executive and former mayor of Wickliffe, Ohio. His earliest known residence was at 1729 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. In 1905, Squire moved to 7809 Euclid Avenue. Squire completed work in 1902 on Cobblestone Garth, a Victorian mansion located in Wickliffe, Ohio. The Squires moved from their Euclid Avenue home into Cobblestone Garth in 1910.

About 1890, Squire purchased of forest land near what is now Willoughby Hills, Ohio, east of Cleveland. He called it River Farm Estate, and planned to turn it into an English country estate complete with manor house. About 1895, Squire began construction on a gatekeeper's house in the Romanesque Revival style. The rustic structure (lacking electricity, natural gas, running water, or sewer) was completed about 1897.

The outer walls are of locally-quarried Euclid bluestone, a form of bluish-colored sandstone found throughout the greater Cleveland area. The structure originally had a ground floor, two upper floors, and a basement. Its windows were of leaded glass.

Urban myth

On December 26, 1876, Squire married Louisa Christiana Braymaier of Cleveland. She died on October 29, 1927, at Cobblestone Garth in Wickliffe.

A myth about the structure grew up over time. The details varied, but the essential story was that Louisa Squire woke one night during a storm and went downstairs to investigate. Startled by lightning (which illuminated the stuffed heads of animals in the structure's trophy room), she fell down the stairs and broke her neck. According to this legend, her ghost may be seen floating through Squire's Castle. The myth is false, as Louisa Squire did not die in the building.

References

Bibliography

  • Squire's Castle at Cleveland Metroparks web page