american castles

Searles Castle, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates

I'm taking another look at this one because when I first wrote about it last May there were no inside pictures for the listing. Searles Castle in Great Barrington, Massachusetts has 40 rooms and seven turrets. The home, which has most recently served as a private school is now up for sale for $15 million. The castle, which is on 61 acres, has a fascinating history, it is one of two in the New England region (the other is in New Hampshire) that bear the name of Edward Searles. Mary Hopkins, the widow of railroad tycoon Mark Hopkins commissioned the castle which was built in 1888. She hired interior decorator Edward Searles for the project, and they married a year before it was finished (she was 22 years older than he). After she died he stayed in the castle for a time and then after his death it has been a private private school, conference center among other businesses and was most recently the John Dewey Academy. The castle has 36 fireplaces, a dungeon, and more than 50 rooms for a total of around 60,000 square feet. The finishes here are amazing imported marble, accentuated fireplaces, carved wood ceilings, a Louis XIV drawing room with details in gold and original painted ceiling, music room with 42-ft dome ceiling, a slate roof, hipped and conical roofs accentuated by finials, chimneys, gablets and turrets. It's been sitting on the market since last May for $15 million.

Gallery: Searles Castle