St. Lawrence River, Cont.
Sunday, July 14. We traveled a whopping 13.2NM to Clayton, NY. We walked through the cute town—(yes another really cute town!), to the Antique Boat Museum. We spent a couple hours roaming through all the boats.
There are over 320 antique boats on display in several buildings. No photo but the hydroplane display in the Morgan Building included a photo and history of Bill Muncy—famous hydro racer in the 60’s & 70’s on Lake Washington and many other locations.
This is the La Duchesse, 106’ houseboat built in 1903 for hotelier George Boldt manager of New York City’s famed Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The houseboat was in continuous use as an elegant summer residence until she was donated to the Museum. It was very impressive for the time it was built.
We walked up the street to St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
Monday, July 15. Destination was 9 NM away to Alexandria Bay Municiple Dock. From here we would catch the Uncle Sam tour shuttle to the Boldt Castle.
Darth updates his captain’s log daily. Total trip miles of our loop as of this entry is 4,512 NM!
This is Boldt Castle.
Construction began on Boldt Castle in 1900 at the bidding of millionaire hotel magnate George C. Boldt as a tribute to his beloved wife Louise. Boldt Castle was designed as their summer dream home.
In January 1904, tragedy struck. Boldt telegraphed the island and commanded the workers to immediately “stop all construction.” Louise had died suddenly. A broken hearted Boldt could not imagine his dream castle without his beloved. Boldt never returned to the island, leaving behind the structure as a monument of his love. (this summary was taken from the Boldt Castle site)
The grounds surrounding the castle were beautifly maintained.
We were not on a guided tour. Guests are alowed to meander through and read snipits of explanation. The first two floors were finished—we were able to walk up to several levels—almost to the top. There were brief explanations posted along the way.
More history from the website:
For 73 years, the castle and various stone structures were left to the mercy of the wind, rain, ice, snow and vandals. When the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property in 1977, it was decided that through the use of all net revenues from the castle operation it would be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.
Last bit of history —this is the Power House:
The original Clock and Chimes Tower were created as a smaller reproduction of the Westminster Chimes in London, England. The silver chimes were purchased from one of the John Wannamaker’s stores and stood between 12 and 14 feet tall. It was said that the chimes played every half hour and that they could be heard for four miles across the river.
The Power House also suffered severe damage after the tile roof was accidentally set ablaze by fireworks in 1939, which left the building exposed to the elements until it restoration in 1990 and also destroyed the chimes and original clock. The restoration involved the installation of tile found in barrels of the castle’s foundation and the creating of a new stone bridge, complete with stairs.
Monday, July 16. We were not going to take in the Singer Castle whish is another 10 miles up the St. Lawrence River. But….. Deb & TJ (First Light) said they enjoyed it more than the Boldt Castle. So we set out early to hopefully dock at the guest dock and take in the tour. The cruise deeper in the St. Lawrence is beautiful.
There are many islands with single family homes like this one. We spotted the residents on the deck—probably drinking coffee watching the boats pass by.
Yay, we got a spot and a fellow looper Bernie (River Rat) in a 27’ Ranger Tug docked behind us. The three of us were on the first tour of the day.
This is Singer Castle on Dark Island—brief history:
Business man Frederick Bourne purchased Dark Island in 1902 and had designed and built the castle originally known as “The Towers” for a cost of US $500,000.
Tons of granite quarried from nearby Oak Island were brought over ice and water from 1903-1905 to construct Singer Castle (at the same time Boldt Castle was being built, Oak Island employees were saved from layoff after Boldt stopped because of construction of Towers.)
This is the entry way. Mr. Bourne loved the book Woodstock by Sir Walter Scott. “The Towers” in the book was the inspiration that Ernest Flagg, the architect whom designed this structure, had after also reading the book. The Castle was named the Singer Castle as Mr. Bourne was very high up the chain for the Singer Sewing Machine company. There were several Singer sewing machines thruought the castle that have been donated. Our tour guide said no more sewing machines are needed.
There were three booth like seats in this room with games at each. Per our tour guide, they were designed for guests that endured long train rides to sit back and enjoy the view.
This was in the Sport -Rehab room. Creepy! Imagine being exposed to light this way for tanning. Not sure who invented it but it did have potential issues with electricity.
This was also from the Sport-Rehab room—invention from ACME—a stove top above a refrigerator. This invention did not catch on—the refridgerator would heat up every time the stove was turned on. Ok…when was this ever a good idea?
A ship was passing while we were on the tour.
I loved this room—originally it was the servants quarters with an ensuite bathroom to share. Later it was used by the visiting families.
Hard to see the rates—there is a Royal Suite that has been modernized and available to rent and stay overnight. The tour guide I spoke with said she stayed there one night and it was amazing. The owners extend a free night to the tour guides as a thank you for their work during the summer. If a couple were to stay—it would cost about $1,200 a night and up to 6 guests can stay—paying more for each additional guest. This includes a catered cold plate dinner in the evening and an extended tour. In the morning a continental breakfast is provided.
After the Singer Castle tour we returned back up the river to the Keewayden State Park. This was highly recommended by Karla and Paul (Current Plan) who are way ahead of us now.
We were glad we took the extra day to tour the Singer Castle. Now we will be heading to Canada to start the Trent Severn Waterway and continue making our way back to Peoria, Illinois where we began our loop. This part of the loop is becoming the most beautiful scenery and in our minds it feels like we saved the best for last. We will enjoy, but also we both are looking forward to returning home to family and friends. We want to hug our loved ones!