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All the United States West Virginia Berkeley Springs Berkeley Springs Castle

Berkeley Springs Castle

A wealthy widow lived the high life in this Gilded Age country house.

Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

Added By
Dylan Thuras
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Berkeley Springs Castle   Jeanne Mozier from the Washington Heritage Trail
Berkeley Springs Castle   Jeanne Mozier from the Washington Heritage Trail
Through the trees   OsmanGomezRobles
From the road   glindsay65
Looking up at Berkeley Springs Castle   Jon Dawson
Driving along and…wow!   sally1987 / Atlas Obscura User
Very detailed   sally1987 / Atlas Obscura User
  mscollinstm / Atlas Obscura User
Driveway to the castle, flanked by gargoyles   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
What a sight to see   sally1987 / Atlas Obscura User
Lion guarding the driveway   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
  mscollinstm / Atlas Obscura User
  DCbmyers / Atlas Obscura User
  DCbmyers / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Samuel Taylor Suit was many things: a successful whiskey distiller; an honorary Kentucky colonel; and a wealthy, well-connected landowner, businessman and politician. He was also unlucky in love.

Samuel Suit's first wife died in childbirth, and his second wife divorced him after 20 years of marriage that proved to be socially advantageous but otherwise deeply contentious. When he fell in love a third time, it was with Rosa Pelham, daughter of a Congressman from Alabama and 29 years his junior. The couple married, and Samuel built his new bride a castle.

The site of the castle would be a ridge overlooking the popular spa town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. Berkeley Springs had long been a popular resort destination, particularly among the elite from not-too-distant Washington, D.C. looking to escape the miserable summer weather. Warm mineral springs and cool, clear mountain air attracted the likes of George Washington, James Madison, Martin Van Buren, and Henry Clay. Being members of the Washington high society that summered in the little destination town, Berkeley Springs was in fact where Rosa and Samuel first met.

They were married in 1883, and the first stone of their castle was laid in 1885. It would be but one of the several dozen "cottages" built by the wealthy summer patrons of Berkeley Springs, but theirs would stand out thanks to its extravagant appearance inspired by Norman castle architecture. Despite the setting, however, there would be no storybook ending; Samuel died in 1888, before the project was completed.

Rosa finished building the house in 1891. Once completed, she took up residence year-round in her castle, where she entertained regularly and lavishly. She would sometimes rent railroad cars to bring her guests from D.C. to her sumptuously appointed parties, featuring opulent spreads and bands that kept revelers dancing through the night. 

Alas, the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and by the turn of the century Rosa Pelham Suit found that the money had run out. She started renting out the castle to generate some income, and in 1902 sold considerable land holdings (known as "Suitland") amassed by her late husband in Maryland, but it was to no avail. The castle was sold at public auction in 1913, and Rosa retired to a small house (described in some sources as a "shack") and raised chickens, later moving to Idaho with her son Samuel.

The Berkeley Springs Castle was home to a boys' summer camp from 1938 to 1954, and was operated as a museum open to the public from 1954 to 1999. Today, it is a private residence that is available for rent as an event space; no tours for the public are available.  

Update June 2o20: The property was put up for sale and purchased by the white nationalist organization, the VDARE Foundation, for $1.4 million.

Related Tags

Castles Resorts Gilded Age

Community Contributors

Added By

Dylan

Edited By

RHyzer, doptroutman, kfolsom, auntiem28...

  • RHyzer
  • doptroutman
  • kfolsom
  • auntiem28
  • sally1987
  • DCbmyers
  • mscollinstm
  • blimpcaptain

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Sources
  • http://berkeleysprings.com/oddities-and-legends/
  • http://www.wvculture.org/goldenseal/winter11/Castle.html
  • http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/morgan/80004035.pdf
  • http://www.census.gov/history/www/census_then_now/suitland_md/colonel_suit.html
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Taylor_Suit_Cottage
Berkeley Springs Castle
276 Cacapon Road
Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
United States
39.627398, -78.22997
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

George Washington's Bathtub

Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

miles away

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of West Virginia

West Virginia

United States

Places 112
Stories 10

Nearby Places

George Washington's Bathtub

Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

miles away

Fort Frederick

Big Pool, Maryland

miles away

Paw Paw Tunnel

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of West Virginia

West Virginia

United States

Places 112
Stories 10

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