Leslie and David's Wanderings: 31 August 2022 Gillette Castle

When we planned this stop, we really did not research the area much. Once we arrived, we started looking around for interesting things to do. One that was at the top of the lists was Gillette Castle State Park. Our research found that the park is the former estate of William Gillette, a famous stage actor in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He wrote the stage plays for the series Sherlock Holms, in which he stared as the famous detective for over 40 years. The pictures of the estate were interesting so we drove the 21 miles over to the state park taking backroads. Connecticut is a pretty state and the drive on the back farm roads was beautiful. The house that William Gillette built between 1914 and 1919 resembles a rustic European castle. The wood working inside was done by shipwrights and is absolutely beautiful. Each of the 27 wooden doors in house is unique and hand-carved wood (no metal hardware except for the hings and springs) that are amazing in their craftsmanship. The interior is modest when compare to people like the Vanderbilts, but is exquisitely done. There are mirrors built above the windows that are angled so that he could spy on his guests on the first floor. There is a hidden passage that allowed him to suddenly appear and surprise his guests with a grand entrance. He built in a fire suppression system as part of the house design. In his later years, he built a three mile railroad on the 122 acre property that he would take guest for rides in. He had a steam powered and electric powered locomotive. His guests included the likes of Albert Einstein and his wife and Helen Hayes. The views looking out over the Connecticut River are beautiful and the primary reason why he chose this location for his retirement home. This is definitely a hidden gem and well worth the $6 entrance fee. There are trails in the park as well but we did not have time to do them. We drove south from the park and connected to US1 and took it along the coast until we had to turn north for the RV park. The coastal area is very congested compared to the rural areas north of I-95. There are some really nice homes along the coast with Long Island on the horizon. It looks exactly the way you would expect Connecticut to look!