Hearthstone

About this property

Hearthstone Castle in Danbury, Connecticut, was built between 1895 and 1899. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It has also been known as Parks' Castle and as The Castle. The property includes four contributing buildings and three other contributing structures. Today, the castle is owned by the City of Danbury and is located in Tarrywile Park. Hearthstone Castle is slated to be renovated into an observation deck. First known as "Sanford Castle", Hearthstone was designed by architect Ernest G. W. Dietrich for its first owner, E. Starr Sanford, a noted portrait photographer. The castle was intended to be a honeymoon "cottage" for Sanford's wife. Sanford and his family owned the castle for only five years before selling it in 1902 to Victor Buck, a retired New York industrialist. When the Buck family moved in, they renamed the castle "Buck's Castle." In 1910, Charles Darling Parks bought the neighboring Tarrywile Mansion from Dr. William C. Wiles. Later, in 1918, C. D. Parks then bought "Buck's Castle" for his oldest daughter, Irene Parks, as a wedding gift. During this time the castle was renamed "Hearthstone Castle." The name was possibly changed to this due to the eight fireplaces, which were all made out of stone, as was the rest of the castle. All the rock that was used to build the castle was quarried on site, and transported the short distance across the property on a small railroad, which was built solely for this purpose. All the woodwork throughout the building of the castle was brought in from Italy. All the wrought iron chandeliers, lamps, and wall sconces were made in Danbury by Cephas B. Rogers Co. Irene Parks Jennings occupied the castle until her death in 1982. The last residents of the castle were her heirs, Richard and Constance Jennings. The Jenningses lived there from 1983 until March 1987, when the entire Tarrywile Estate was sold to the town of Danbury. Hearthstone Castle was declared a National Historic Place that same year. The castle was not well maintained under Danbury's ownership, and the roof has since collapsed. In 2004, Tarrywile Park Authority and The City of Danbury approved two options for renovating the castle. The first option involves developing the Castle into a three-season pavilion and observation tower. The plan includes stabilization and limited renovation of the castle to provide a kitchen facility for picnics, seating areas for picnics, creation of an observation tower to take advantage of the views afforded by the site and establishment of an educational area, historical exhibits and tourist information center. Efforts would include restoration of the historic landscape and garden design as well as expansion of the site's hiking and passive recreation facilities.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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