Day 6 - Monday, Sept. 28th
We cruised Lake Winnepesaukee and then on to Castle in the Clouds. Castle in the Clouds is located in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. It was built by the eccentric millionaire Thomas Plant. It is now part of the 5000 acre Castle Springs estate which is the location of the Castle Springs water bottling plant. We drove the bus so far up the mountain, got out and boarded a trolley for the rest of the ride up the mountain to the castle.
'Castle in the Clouds' is built on the rim of an ancient volcanic caldera. It's hundreds of millions of years old. The Ossippee Mountains are a circular mountain range; they are the eroded rim of a giant, prehistoric volcano. Few people think of volcanic formations in the Eastern U.S., but the castle site affords a great place for visitors interested in rocks and volcanoes. The rock around the castle, and the castle wall itself, is lava. Construction on the castle began in 1913. At one time over 1000 workers were on the property, stonemasons, carpenters, etc.
The castle is actually a house that was built by Thomas Plant for his young second wife. You could see for 75 miles in all directions. Mrs. Plant, her name was Olive, was actually quite tall. Mr. Plant, on the other hand was about 5'4", and had the house built so that door knobs and such were at his height. Even on Olive's bedroom door. In his office you will find a suit of armour he wore to costume parties, which will give you a good idea just how short he really was.
In addition to having a phone, and electricity (which was powered by his own water powered generator), he had the first fire truck in Moultonboro, as well as having fire hydrants IN the house. He also had a central vacuum system, a self cleaning stove and a brine cooled refrigerator.
A little more information for you- Now this has to be the most popular story about Mr. Plant and his first wife. They lived in a beautiful house in Massachusetts. They had a very rocky marriage, but did stay married for quite a while. Mr. Plant went away on a trip to France, and asked the first Mrs. Plant to go with him, however she declined. While in France, Mr. Plant met Olive, a bankers daughter and many years younger, and fell in love. After he returned to the states, the first Mrs. Plant came down to breakfast to find a million dollar check in her napkin roll, and Thomas walked out the front door. Needless to say, she gave him a divorce!
He made "Queen Quality Shoes", and his factory was way ahead of it's time- there was a floor with a cafeteria and gym for the workers to use for free. When the factory burned down (years after Mr. Plant sold it, and had died), it was the hottest fire in Boston's history.
The kitchen floor is actually a jigsaw puzzle. When it was put down there was no glue used. The pieces were made to fit together very tightly and the floor still exists. Teddy Roosevelt often visited the castle and was a friend of Mr. Plants. Mr. Plants fortune was lost on advise given to him to invest in pork bellies. The person who gave him the advise was Teddy Roosevelt. In the end Mr. Plant had to sell the castle and pay off his debts and when he died his friends had to take up a collection to pay for his burial. It is believed he also lost money in the stock market crash.
Tomorrow - Day 7, Boston
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