Touring of Boldt Castle

After having a wonderful cooked breakfast outdoors, we left at 10 to go to the Marina here in Wellesley State Park where we got tickets for a  boat ride to Boldt Castle.  It was a large pontoon boat that traveled on the Eel River into the St. Lawrence River.  We had an hour trip each way with a guide telling us all about the islands as we passed them and interesting facts about the history of the area.  So many of the "mansions" we passed were incredible.  A lot of the smaller 1000 Islands are privately owned and each supplies their own water, electric, and waste system.  The majority sell for over 1 million dollars with property taxes for just the land around $50,000.  Hard for me to grasp! 

Some of the islands are so small!

Some have only 1 house!

The pontoon boat tour!

Bridge into Canada!

1 of 2 lighthouses we passed on our boat tour!

After an hour on the River, we stopped at Boldt Castle for an hour of touring the castle and the beautiful gardens!  What a place.  George Boldt, a very wealthy man who was a friend of Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, Roosevelt, Carnegie, etc., was instrumental in the building and managing of the Waldorf Astoria.  He and his wife, Louise, had traveled to the 1000 Islands and fell in love with the area.  They purchased Heart Island and build a cottage there for vacationing.   They had 2 children and he decided to build a "playhouse" for them which had 2 bowling alleys, a theater, and wonderful play areas.  They also stayed there after tearing down the cottage when he decided to build a "castle" for the love of his life in 1900.  300 workers were hired to work on the project and he even bought a stone quarry nearby for all the stones that were needed.  The castle had 127 rooms and included a swimming pool in the lower level - there were 6 floors.  Unfortunately, in 1904, while construction was still going on, Louise died suddenly from heart problems at the age of 42.  He telegraphed the workers that very day and told them to cease the work on the castle.  It is reported that he never returned to the castle.  It was unfinished and vacant until 1971 when it was sold to the New York Bridge Authority for $1.00 and they started the renovations.  There was lots of graffiti throughout the property, everything was in shambles, and only a couple rooms were even started inside!  To date, the Authority has spent 32 million dollars in renovations and only about a 12 rooms are completed!  It is amazing!

View of the castle from our boat.  The extra building was
constructed as a operations house for electric if they
ever got it to the island!

George Boldt wanted the heart theme to be everywhere!

What a Stairway!

The study/library!

Ballroom

Would have been Louise's Bedroom

How the rooms look before renovations!

The children's playhouse

The archway entrance for visitors

Beautiful formal Dining Room.  The great grandchildren
of George and Louise gave this furniture to the property from their
home abroad!

Lovely Garden




Here are a few additional photos from our return trip.  We passed a huge barge and another lighthouse.

After we returned around 2:15, we all felt tired so we took naps.  Imagine that!  Then we took a 7 mile bike ride around the State Park checking out all the camping loops.  There are some very beautiful campsites overlooking the water, but most of them have no hook-ups.  Loop B does have electric and shaded sites, so that is the one I would recommend if you make a trip to this State Park.  Otherwise, you are mostly in the sun without trees!

Had a great supper and then the women won 2 games of ladder golf - finally!  Called it a night around 9:45.  Looking forward to driving into Canada tomorrow to do some bike riding!