Electricity was provided by generator before the rest of the town had access. The entire structure is well supported by a frame of steel I-beams.įor the time, the house had all the modern utilities. A team of five master carpenters created all of the woodwork for the Castle, carving southern white oak by hand.
The house is built of fieldstone collected from the property and surrounding area. Work on the home was done primarily by a team of 20 men. As a finished product, the 14,000-square-foot building contained 24 rooms and cost $1.1 million to complete. The Porteus-Walker Company of Hartford was hired as the general contractor.Ĭonstruction was started in 1914 and completed in 1919, with Gillette later modifying the building, including the expansion from 1923 to 1926. Informally, it was the "Hadlyme stone heap" or simply "the pile of rocks." Design of the Castle and all the quirks and eccentricities therein was done by William Gillette. As William Gillette insisted that it was not a castle, the official name of the property was the Seventh Sister Estate. The Castle was meant as a retirement home.
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