Dundas Castle (Roscoe, New York)
Dundas Castle, (c. 1891 & 1915-1924) and also called Craig-E-Clair, is located in Roscoe, Sullivan County, New York and was designed for Ralph Wurts-Dundas. An earlier structure, Beaverkill Lodge that was designed by Bradford Gilbert was built around 1891, was incorporated into the Castle. Early History. In the late 1880s, New York architect Bradford Gilbert acquired nearly 1000 acres in the Catskill Mountains in what is now Roscoe, New York. On this property, Gilbert constructed his summer retreat, Beaverkill Lodge. Gilbert's new wife, Maria, was Irish said "the Catskill scenery reminded  her of home." She named the surrounding hamlet Craig-e-Clair which translates as "beautiful mountainside." Wurts-Dundas Era. In 1903, the Gilberts sold the property to Morris Stembach. Four years later, Stembach sold to Ralph Wurts-Dundas in 1907. Wurts-Dundas was a wealthy and prominent New Yorker and grandson of William Wurts, one of three brothers who built the Delaware & Hudson Canal. He eventually shortened his name to Dundas. Dundas wanted to expand the existing Beaverkill Lodge into the finest mansion his money could buy. Construction photographs show Beaverkill Lodge being "encapsulated within the castle structure." For his  European-style castle, Dundas imported slate roofing from England, iron gates France, and marble from Italy for floors, fireplaces, and staircases. The only local product used was stone from the nearby Beaverkill River. The reception room's fireplace was covered in gold leaf and valued at more than $5,000 in 1910. Designed in the Gothic Revival and Elizabethan Revival styles, the 36-room residence was constructed between 1915 and 1924, but never completed or occupied by Dundas or his wife Josephine because he died in 1921. Th castle was inherited by their daughter Muriel, along with some $40  million, but she did not go back to the Catskills and the castle. Masons and Camp Eureka. In 1949, Muriel sold the property for $47,000 to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the Masonic Order. This was a Manhattan-based organization of African American Masons who wanted to create "a Masonic home for the aged and indigent." Unfortunately, that project did not happen, so Mason's developed the property into a vacation retreat, using a barn as a recreation center, an old farmhouse for administration, and the castle for a fishing and hunting resort. Over time, they added new  structures and turned the property into a summer camp for inner-city youth. Named Camp Eureka, this is the main activity of the site today. Conservation. The building and property were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. In 2005, the Mason entered into a conservation easement with Open Space Conservancy, The easement limits future development on the property and protects its historic structures.