A fairy tale gatehouse has become a charming addition to a public park in suburban Cleveland, but some visitors claim otherworldly residents flicker through its empty halls.
- Standard Oil co-founder Feargus B. Squire began construction on the property in the 1890s.
- Squire’s wife, Louisa, died of pneumonia in 1927.
- After years of vandalism, the “castle” has been heavily renovated.
- Visitors claim to see a red light shining in the darkened windows.
The hollowed out shell of Squire’s Castle sits deep in the woods off River Road in the northeastern suburbs of Cleveland. This romantic, Medieval-looking stone edifice once served as a carriage or gate house for Standard Oil co-founder Feargus B. Squire. Squire intended to build a mansion at the site, but never finished his project. Since opening to the public, visitors claim to see mysterious lights flashing in the darkened windows. The light, they say, is the spectral remnants of Squire’s wife, “Rebecca”.
Feargus O’Conner Bowden Squire, or simply Feargus B. Squire, was born on February 12, 1850 in Devon, England. His family emigrated to the Cleveland area in 1860. Squire rose to prominence in the burgeoning petroleum industry, and served as Mayor of Wickliffe in 1923.
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M.A. Kleen 
2 replies on “Squire’s Castle and its Phantasmal Light Show”
Thanks, matchstick! There are a lot of interesting places around Cleveland
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Michael Kleen finds so many cool places! Squire’s Mansion tops the bucket-list for my next trip to Cleveland. And what a highly underrated city. To those who only remember the crime and the river-on-fire years – go see it now. I just hope the urban planners strike a good balance between the need for shiny new condos, stadiums and museums with the crucial task of preserving structures like Squire’s Mansion.
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