Location: Roscoe, NY
Status: Privately Owned
Located in the small town of Roscoe, NY sits one of the greatest mysteries of the Catskill Region of New York State. Dundas Castle (also known as the Craig-E-Clair Castle) was built over a hundred years ago by a wealthy man whose purpose was to use it as a massive estate complex. Instead, the property was never used and it remains vacant in a forest to this day. Over the years, people have asked many questions about the abandoned castle and why no one has used it while others have speculated it to be haunted by those who were to live in the castle. Today, we’ll go over what is known about this place and look into its conspiracies as we look at the history behind the mysterious Dundas Castle.
Before it became Dundas Castle, this massive structure was once a small summer lodge. Bradford Lee Gilbert built the structure for him and his wife in the 1880’s and named it “Craig-E-Clair" after the town of the same name in Scotland. The reason behind choosing this name was because Gilbert’s wife was from Scotland. Bradford and his wife owned the property until 1911 when he passed away. Shortly after, both the land and the building were bought out by Maurice Sternbeck. It is unknown what Sternbeck used the property for. Soon after, a wealthy man named Ralph W. Dundas claimed the property and would soon turn the small house into the giant stone structure.
“Craig-e-Clair" Lodge, www.theexplorographer.com.
Ralph Wurts Dundas was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1871 to American parents who had family connections to New York and Philadelphia. One of these connections were his grandfather, William Wurts, as he was a Philadelphia merchant & one of three brothers who built & promoted the Delaware & Hudson Canal in the 1820s to convey anthracite from Carbondale, Pennsylvania to the Hudson at Angston. Ralph’s father, William Wilberforce Wurts, once held commissions in the Philadelphia City Cavalry & New York Cavalry during the Civil War before serving as attaché of the United States Legations at Rome under Rufus King and at Paris under Elihu B. Washburne and John A. Dix. By the time Ralph was born, his parents were living abroad in Europe and was heir to serval fortunes. He eventually moved to America after living in Europe for many years. While living in New York, Dundas was considered “socially prominent” and was well known around Sullivan County, Rockland County, and neighboring regions.
When Ralph W. Dundas purchased the 964-ache land from Maurice Sternbeck, it came with Gilbert’s old "swiss” style lodge. Dundas would soon hire 30 Finnish Workmen to help begin construction on the upcoming massive estate complex while he and his wife, Josephine, lived in a wing of the house. Construction began in 1915 as plans for the structure often changed or were altered. Mr. Dundas was very strict on how the castle must be built. If he didn’t approve of something, the workmen were ordered to tear it down and rebuild it to Dundas’ liking. Unfortunately, Ralph Dundas died in 1921 and construction was halted a few years later, making the castle incomplete.
Dundas Castle, 1920s.
By the time construction was ceased, the castle was built in a form of a triangle with a courtyard in the center along with nearly 40 rooms, each with modern facilities. It also included winding marble stairs that connected all the floors, and more. It was said Dundas wanted his structure to share a resemblance to the Dundas Castle in Scotland due to its remarkable architecture.
Winding marble stairs inside the castle, Urbanxplayground.com.
Dundas Castle, Scotland.
After Ralph’s death, his wife Josephine was admitted into a sanatorium and the property was left to Ralph’s daughter, Muriel Harmer Wurts-Dundas. In 1930, she moved to England with her husband and soon met the same faith as her mother as she was committed due to her declining mental health. Due to this, no one has ever lived in the castle and it has sat abandoned for years.
Word started picking up about the mysterious structure a few years later as the New York Times published an article about Dundas Castle referring to it as, "an imposing stone fortress on the edge of a forest five miles from Roscoe in the lower Catskills, known as Craig-e-Clare, is one of the most intriguing points of interest in Sullivan County. Virtually completed five years ago, at a cost of more than a million dollars, the huge structure has never been occupied...”.
After the article was published, the castle was guarded by police and their german shepherds to protect the place against trespassers and those who were after Dundas’ riches as some of it still remained in the abandoned castle. Residents around the region who were questioned about the castle knew very little about who built it or how it got there.
Over the years, many have developed conspiracies about the Dundas Castle. One of which was that it was haunted by Josephine Dundas who they claim was locked in an upstairs room by Ralph due to her insanity. Another was that the three heart-shaped ponds on the property were fill with blood on the full moon. Obviously, none of these were proven to be true.
The castle was abandoned for many years until 1946 when an affiliate of African American Masons acquired the property for $47,500. The purchase was made through Prince Hall Temple Associates, a corporation set up to manage property investments. For a short time, the property was converted into a summer camp for kids before being bought out by the Masonic branch of the district. The Masons planned to recreate the property into a home for the elderly and poor, but then decided to turn the castle into a holiday home in the 1950’s. Much like the property before it was bought, this idea was abandoned as well.
Dundas Castle continued to be vacant for many more years as it become overgrown with nature, making it hidden from society. In 2001, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and in 2005, the Masons and the Open Space Institute signed an agreement to jointly protect the castle against vandalists.
When I visited this structure in 2018, I was only able to explore a limited amount of the property as construction seemed to been going on with the castle. There were also satellites installed around the structure that detected motion. It was rumored that the new owner did not appreciate unwanted visitors and would shoot them on site, so my group and I got out of there as soon as possible. I think if you were to contact the owner now, he might let you tour the castle.
Today, Dundas Castle is often seen as architecturally significant with its especially distinctive & unusual example of Anglo-American estate architecture in the western Catskills region of New York. It is unknown what will become of it in the future, but with its unique architecture and mysterious history, it certainly won’t be forgotten.
This has been the story behind the Dundas Castle in Roscoe, NY.
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