When visiting the remote corners of New York's Catskill region, no one would expect a stone castle to appear rising out of its woodlands. The small hamlet of Roscoe, only two hours from New York City, has a population of well under 1,000. While the town itself is scenic, flanked on one side by mountains and forests, that would be the only reason one might have to visit. However, that's only if they were unaware of Craig-e-Clair Castle, one of the Catskills' most famed - and believed to be cursed - abandoned locations.
In reality, the history of Craig-e-Clair Castle, also known as Dundas Castle, is a tragic one. Lying in its abandonment is the tale of a home that was never fully lived-in, and a family wrought with struggles. Those who have visited claim that there's something more there, though - perhaps a passing breeze, or maybe the restlessness of those who still have not left.
The Tragic History Of Craig-E-Clair, AKA Dundas Castle
Craig-e-Clair is easily recognizable - its stone towers rise up over the surrounding woodlands and its entrance is marked by a somewhat decaying wrought-iron gate. If one hadn't been told they were in the middle of the Catskills, New York, it would be easy to believe it was picked up out of a fairy tale (albeit, a dark one) and dropped on the side of a mountain slope. It's almost hard to believe if a person wasn't there witnessing it for themselves - that's how equally out of place and magnificent this castle appears to be.
While its outwardly stunning appearance is attributed to the craftsmanship of the 1880s, its story is far from its sparkling persona. The man who owned the nearly one thousand acres of land on which Craig-e-Clair sits was Bradford L. Gilbert, a famed New York City architect. However, it is not he who was responsible for its incredible gothic features, which, at the time, were surely unmatched by any other manor design in the upstate area. These striking, harsh features somehow fit flawlessly into the untamed wilderness surrounding them and, by extension, fit into the sad tale that was to play out following their construction.
Originally, Gilbert had built Beaverkill Lodge on the property before eventually selling it to Morris Sternbach in 1903. At the time, Craig-e-Clair was believed to be named after an Irish fishing village. When translated, it meant 'beautiful mountainside.' It's also said that Gilbert named the hamlet in honor of his wife, who was an Ireland native. After selling the property to Sternbach, however, the land's second life was short-lived when he sold the property to a man named Wurts-Dundas only five years later.
Craig-e-Clair And The Infamous Dundas Legacy
Wurts-Dundas wanted one thing: a mountain escape for his family. To do this, the nearly 1,000 acres of Beaverkill Lodge land was purchased, and the reign of Craig-e-Clair, AKA Dundas, would soon begin. The goal was to turn what was once a fishing retreat into a hidden mountain home, and the plans started with a Swiss-style country house. At this point, it would only be natural to ponder how something as seemingly innocent as a Swiss-style country design could be turned into something so medieval. The answer? Simple: Wurts-Dundas was unhappy with the structure that existed already.
This led to a complete overhaul of the plans and the property. Before long, plans were drawn up to mimic a 19th-century medieval castle, one that would particularly resemble those found in Scotland at the time. Built with stones from the Beaverkill River and featuring a whopping 36 rooms, the castle's architectural drama did not end there. The slate roof was imported from England, while the home's marble was imported from Italy for the flooring, staircases, and fireplaces. The iron gates at the entrance were brought in from France, giving the house bits and pieces of design material from every corner of Europe.
The Short-Lived Lifespan Of Dundas (& The Castle)
Tragically, the house never became an actual home. While construction went on through the early days of WWI, Dundas himself passed before the home could be completed. His wife, Josephine, was also said to have passed on not long after while in a Sanitorium. Thus, no members of the Dundas family ever came to live in Craig-e-Clair Castle. They left behind a daughter, Muriel, who inherited her family's fortune. However, this fortune was stolen by the castle's caretakers acting as her legal guardians, leaving Muriel with little to her name. After she married, she and her husband went on an expedition in search of 'St. John's Gold.' After several questionable moves by her and her husband during the expedition, she was eventually committed in a similar manner to her mother, Josephine, as her sanity was questioned.
There were several uses for the castle following, including a summer camp and a Mason's Lodge. However, the castle still remains abandoned today after falling into repeated disuse. As of 2021, there was news of the current owners of the property renovating to finally finish the castle, in the hopes of opening it as a hotel in the summer of 2022.
While there are many peculiarities about the castle - as well as rumors about the family who never had the chance to live in it - it's still an iconic landmark of Roscoe. This gothic-style medieval castle, sitting on a small mountain at the foot of dense woodlands, has become a source of legend for the locals in the surrounding area. With its stone turrets and medical archways, marble floors, and towering steeples, it's easy to believe any story about it - as is the conjuring nature that abandoned places often have over us.