A "Castle" Tour in Marietta Ohio

Back to our October road trip through Tennessee, Kentucky and on into southern Ohio... We stayed in Marietta Ohio for two nights...and giving the timing the second day was a Sunday.  Sundays can be challenging starting in October as many attractions reduce their hours of operation or just close for the season.  In addition, shopping opportunities except for the chain stores tend to be more limited and some restaurants also close or reduce their hours.

So...I needed an attraction that would be interesting and would keep us busy for a while...

This is "The Castle", an historic home in Marietta that was built back in 1855, based on the Gothic Revival style.  The property itself is historic as it was leased as early as 1808 by a potter and his family, making it one of the earliest pottery manufacturing sites in what was then referred to as the Northwest Territory.  Since 1994 this eye-catching home has served as a museum.

This property occupies two lots or building sites.  Nathaniel Clark and his wife Lydia Sackett, with at least 5 children, occupied these lots...with a residence and the pottery business.  As per one article, the pottery produced milk pans, jugs and jars.  Archaeological excavations have documented that Clark's operation produced both red earthenware and salt-glazed stoneware.

Visitors begin their adventure at the Carriage House.  Built ca 1888, it houses ticket sales for the tour, a small gift shop and a small number of artifacts.  One of these artifacts is this Rockaway Coupe Carriage, built ca 1880s.  Typically these four-wheel carriages are relatively light and low slung.  They feature a fixed top and open sides, that may be covered by waterproof curtains.  There is a heavier version that is more enclosed.  

There is some debate regarding the name of these carriages.  It may be derived from the town of Rockaway New Jersey, where carriages were originally made.  According to other sources, these carriages were built in Jamaica/Queens and they were called the Rockaway because they were used to shuttle passengers between Jamaica and the Atlantic Ocean beaches of Long Island's Rockaway Peninsula.

The decor in the entry hallway to the Castle immediately strikes visitors as being a bit unusual or quirky.  The checkered floor and that big mural depicting the home in a much earlier period set the tone for most of the remainder of the home.  Much of the decor and architectural embellishments stem from the efforts of the last private owners of the property.  

The Castle was the home of some of the town's most prominent and influential citizens.  The original builder/homeowner was Melvin C. Clarke.  He was a prominent attorney and abolitionist.  The home cost $10,000 to build in 1855...about $363,000 in todays dollars.  If that seems like a low number in today's dollars, consider that back in the day homes had little or no plumbing and no electrical to install.

This is Judy...she was our knowledgeable and friendly guide who led us on our exploration of The Castle.  I also believe that she is a member of The Castle's Board of Directors.

The original builder of The Castle, Melvin C. Clarke, was a direct descendent of immigrants who came to North America on the Mayflower... He taught school before becoming an attorney and he was Marietta's first city solicitor.  However Clarke didn't own the home for very long, selling it to John Newton in 1858.  

In 1861 Melvin Clarke organized the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and he received a commission as a Lt. Colonel.  In September of 1862, Colonel Clarke was killed in the battle at Antietam.

This fireplace with its tile surround and contrasting hearth...accented by a lot of wood trim and that antique wallpaper...provides a real central point of focus. 

By the time John Newton purchased The Castle in 1858, he'd suffered through more loss than most people endure in a lifetime.  His entire family, 28 year old wife Susan and all 3 sons died from 'inflammation of the lungs' before September of 1852.  Only John and an adopted daughter named Margaret survived.  Her father was in prison for killing her mother...  

John remarried again in October of 1853, this time to another 28 year old named Sally.  They had one son who died in 1855.  Sally followed their son to the grave in September of that year.  They were buried beside John's first wife and four children.

This photo shows the entrance to The Castle's library.  Note the extensive Victorian era fretwork at the top and the right side of the doorway.

Continuing with John Newton's life, in July of 1858, right after he bought The Castle, John married for the third time, this time his wife Jane, was a widow.  

John was a man of wealth and The Castle would have a site of important entertainment and business functions.  John operated a very successful bucket factory.  During the Civil War he was appointed to the county Military Committee of Five, who were responsible for recruiting soldiers and collecting supplies needed by the army.  In September of 1862, the 7th Ohio Cavalry was organized in Marietta and they named themselves "Newton's Guards" in John Newton's honor.  

Then in December of 1862, John's third wife, Jane, died suddenly of 'apoplexy'.  He proved that he wasn't a 'quitter', when in September of 1865 he married his fourth and final wife, Helen, who was another widow.  Helen was 20 years his junior and she did outlive him... His adopted daughter lived until ca 1920.

After the Civil War John Newton became a financier and banker.  He also became involved in the discovery of oil locally...obtaining a lease on a piece of property near Cow Run in Ohio.  The well he was alleged to have drilled yielded 50 barrels a day.  Newton was active in many local groups and even served as a member of Marietta's City Council.   John died at The Castle in July 1886.  Helen was 20 years his junior and she did outlive him... His adopted daughter Margaret lived until ca 1920.

Okay...This isn't a normal item that one would focus on when touring an historic home and it obviously doesn't date back to the 1800s.  However, I had never seen a pill-style toilet tank before so I had to take a picture.  While wall-mounted tanks aren't very rare, this round shape is unusual.  I found a ca 1926 Eljer Pill Toilet Tank (only the tank) for sale on eBay with an asking price of $1,795.00.  Then I found a complete set priced at $2,495.00.  

This is the primary bathroom at The Castle. Like many parts of the home, the decor has a number of 'unusual' features...not easily fitting into one era or another.  Part of the variances stem from the influences of the families who lived here...with a significant quirky impact initiated by the last family that lived here. 

Edward White Nye published the Marietta Gazette Newspaper for several years.  He was also involved in banking, accounting (bookkeeping) and oil speculation.  He purchased The Castle from John Newton's estate in January1887.  He didn't live in the house for long, dying in town after 'a hearty dinner' in town in March of 1888.  Edward White left the home to his only daughter, Lucy Nye Davis.  His widow, Hannah Nye, lived in The Castle with her daughter and son-in-law until Hannah died in 1900.

The Castle's dining room is colorful and feels like a cross between Victorian and Eastlake design.  The woodwork, doors and the trim are outstanding.  Love that fireplace too...

Lucy Holmes (Nye) Davis was born in 1849 and, after inheriting The Castle, she cared for her mother and family for the rest of her life.  She married Theodore Davis in 1872.  He'd come to Marietta to work for the railroad, then served as the 'City Engineer' for 2 terms, was elected to the State Senate and then served as the President Pro Tem of that body.

As for Lucy herself, she was a prominent social leader among the wives of the Republican Party of Ohio, was involved in missionary work, and she was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  Lucy died 12 days after breaking a hip at The Castle in November of 1931.  She had just celebrated her 82nd birthday.

This is the parlor, aka the sitting room, at The Castle.  Colorful and very Victorian in nature, it features yet another striking fireplace.  We must remember that other than small cast iron heating stoves, most of the large rooms in a home during the early days were warmed by fireplaces.

Jessie Nye Davis, daughter of Theodore and Lucy (Nye) Davis was born in 1874.  When her mother Lucy inherited The Castle, it became the home for Jesse and her sister Grace throughout their childhood.  In 1896, Jessie married John Lindsay of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.  The wedding reception was held at The Castle...and Jessie lived for a time in Pittsburgh.  She returned to Marietta in 1905 after a divorce.  

Grace had moved on with her life elsewhere, so Jessie lived alone in The Castle with a housekeeper and, in her later years with her little dog, Suzy.  Jessie spent most of her time in the small library with the big doors closed.  Visitors were made to wait in the sitting room while Jessie listened through the doors and decided whether or not to receive the guests.  Jesse (Nye) Lindsay died at The Castle in February of 1974, 5 days before her 100th birthday.  Jessie's heirs, the 2 daughters of her sister Grace, sold off the house and most of the furnishings.

This is the kitchen area of the house...or rather the 'newer' kitchen area of the house.  The stove, with 6 'eyes, a hot water reservoir and a warming 'closet', was built by the A.T. Nye and Son Co., a major Marietta based stove and range manufacturer from the late 1800s and early 1900s.  A.T. Nye was Edward White Nye's brother.  Note the wooden door at the right of that impressive stove.  It isn't a dumbwaiter but neither Laurie or myself can remember what it was used for.  

I came across this photo of the A.T. Nye and Son Manufacturing plant on the Internet.  This was not a small operation!  The plant was located at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers.  In addition to cooking stoves, the company built heating stoves (like for a parlor), kettle pots, Dutch ovens and more.  In this interesting old photo, there is snow on the ground, folks out on the frozen river and there is a paddlewheel riverboat frozen against the shore.

The Nye family was everywhere around the turn of the 20th Century.  A business directory listed the manufacturing plant, 2 different attorney offices with the family name and the Nye Hardware Store.

So, continuing with The Castle's story, who was responsible for saving The Castle, albeit with a number of 'unusual' decorative features and alterations?  

The answer is that a pair of siblings, Leslie Stewart Bosley and his sister Bertlyn Bosley saved the home...with Leslie adding his own quirky touches throughout The Castle. 

Leslie graduated from Marietta High School and then spent 2 years at Marietta College before transferring to Duke University.  Later, he attended both Harvard and Yale, receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree from the latter school.  Over the following years, Leslie moved to New York City and wrote for theater and radio plays, then advertising copy and some early television programs.  He also did considerable work for both the Guggenheim and Ford Foundations.  Leslie retired and moved back to Marietta in 1972.

Bertlyn graduated from Marietta High School, the Western College for Women (Miami University) and then she attended Simmons College where she took courses in pre-med and nutrition before interning at Johns Hopkins University in Dietetics.  Subsequently she went on to earn both a Masters Degree and Doctorate from Columbia University. Bertlyn's career involved travel and she served as the first nutritional director for the State of North Carolina.  Later she worked with the U.S. Public Health Service, the Department of the Interior (with various Native American groups).  Next was her work for the Pan American Health Organization...setting up nutritional programs and university curricula for Central and South American countries.  Finally, she worked as a consultant for the University of Public Health in Puerto Rico...retiring and moving back to Marietta in 1979.

This is the old kitchen complete with the fireplace that was used for cooking before iron stoves took over the job.  This is a simple and utilitarian room...much like one might expect in a home from the mid-1800s where the homeowner would have had servants taking care of cooking and much more.

Neither Stewart nor Bertlyn ever lived in The Castle.  The renovations stretched over almost 2 decades.  Bertlyn developed Parkinson's Disease and became wheelchair bound.  She died in January of 1989 at the age of 82 and Stewart passed on just 2 years later in 1991.  Neither of the siblings had any children and both left investment funds to assure the future maintenance and operation of The Castle as an educational museum.  Both are buried just a block away from The Castle in Mound Cemetery next to their parents.

Our visit and tour of the Castle was both entertaining and informative.  It was well worth the price of admission!  The Castle Museum is located at 418 Fourth Street in Marietta Ohio.  Phone: 740-373-4180.  Admission is $10.00 for adults and $9.50 for seniors.  Active military are free and military families are half price.  10% discounts are available for members of AAA and AARP.  To learn more, just go to https://mariettacastle.org/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave