Hartford Castle is the ruins of a 19th century residence located near Hartford, Illinois. Hartford is a village in Madison County, Illinois, near the mouth of the Missouri River. It is located on private property at (38. 800600, -90. 084600) approximately 15 miles north of downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
The mansion, known as "Lakeview" at the time of its construction in 1897, was built by a French immigrant by the name of Benjamin Biszant. Prior to construction, a moat was dug around the property, and the excavated soil was used to elevate the construction site, which is located on the Mississippi River floodplain. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||}A floodplain, or flood plain, is flat or nearly flat land adjacent to a Stream or River that experiences occasional or periodic Biszant built the residence for use by himself and his English bride. He sold the property and moved away after she died in the early 1900's.
The mansion passed through many hands over the years, reportedly serving at various times as a boys' military school, a school for unwed mothers, a resort, a speakeasy, and finally as a private residence until it burned to the ground on March 21, 1973.
Although the ruins provide scant evidence of the one-time grandeur of the mansion, the triangular moat with 1000-foot-long sides remains distinct and visible from the air.
Sources
Taylor, Troy (2005). Weird Illinois. Sterling Publishing Co. , Inc. , 232-233. ISBN 076075943X.
Taylor, Troy. Hartford Castle. Retrieved on 2007-01-26. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1340 - King Edward III of England is declared King of France.
External links
http://dailyabuse.typepad.com/odd_midwest/2005/04/the_first_trip_.html
- Hartford Castle is at coordinates Coordinates:
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