"Ferguson's Castle" was the dream home of Julianna Armour Ferguson (heiress to the Chicago‐based Armour meat packing company). The estate was modeled after the religious monasteries of Italy and Spain that Ferguson and her late husband, Dr. Farquhar Ferguson, had visited together. Set into a steep hill overlooking Huntington Harbor, the forty‐room, Italian Renaissance‐style castle, with its lofty four‐story bell tower, was originally christened the “Monastery" when its three‐year construction was completed in 1911.
With the goal of creating an authentic feel to the house, Mrs. Ferguson, along with Boston architect Allen W. Jackson and a team of purchasing agents, scoured Europe looking for architectural treasures and valuable works of art to incorporate into the Monastery's interior decor. In the end, it was estimated that Mrs. Ferguson spent over $2 million to construct the home.
Stained glass windows and Byzantine‐style frescos taking several years to paint graced the Refectory (dining room). The impressive Grand Hall (living room) looked like an elaborate movie set for Romeo and Juliet. The dramatic double‐story cloistered courtyard, enclosed by a massive glass ceiling, took visitors on a fascinating journey back in time. Exotic marble and onyx columns supported the balcony from which the family bedrooms, outdoor cloister garden and main staircase surveyed the Grand Hall below.
Perhaps the building's most arresting feature was the floors paved with children's tombstones, dating back three centuries, which were also incorporated into many of the rooms. According to sources, when showing guests to their room, Mrs. Ferguson would tell them whom they would be staying with.
Julianna Ferguson died in 1927. Put up for auction in 1936, the valuable contents that Julianna amassed at the Monastery were sold for pennies on the dollar. Shortly after the auction, the house still found no buyers until Brooklyn attorney Charles D. Cords acquired the property. The Cords quietly resided in the Monastery for the next thirty years, but Mr. Cords, who loved the Castle, was unable to maintain the estate in the style to which it was accustomed.
Taking action, the county seized the fourteen‐acre waterfront estate. Local resident groups rallied to save the house, but without the support of the town or the county, their efforts were fruitless. Ultimately, the Castle fell into ruin, covered in deep vines. The empty house was soon vandalized, and valuable artwork and ancient statues and artifacts were smashed, covered in graffiti or pried from the walls and gardens of the home. The once grand showplace was sold to developers in 1970.
The battle to save Ferguson's Castle was lost to the wrecking ball, but with concrete walls over four feet thick and footings four‐by‐fourteen feet, the house did not fall easily. In fact, some of the footings and foundation still remain. The monumental task nearly bankrupted the project. Luckily, just before the house was razed, a number of the artifacts incorporated into the building were removed and sold to private collectors and museums. Today, the gatehouse (now a private home) and some of the garden wall are all that remain of Ferguson's Castle.
Source:
“Bygone Mansions.” Gold Coast Mansions - Historic Long Island - Bygone Mansions, goldcoastmansionsoflongisland.com/index.php?page=bygone_mansions_02
