Castle Hill - Ruggles, Ohio
Built in 1878 Charles Crittenden began construction of Castle Hill March 13, 1878, with a detailed “article of agreement” with builder David Myers, Wayne County. The pact used the home of John Flukes as a guideline. It specified such materials as “the best Vermont slate” for the roof, certain styles of flues, plaster and woodworking, brass fixtures, porcelain doorknobs and indoor shutters at every window. A central feature of the house is the mansard roofed tower which rises above the northeast corner over the main entrance. There is an unusual amount of carved wood ornamentation around the windows and the bracketed cornices. The 15-room house with its 10-foot ceilings was built for $2,700. The tower pediments and decks on the roof were added in another agreement in August of that same year, at an additional cost of $425. The structure, highlighted by an open stairway that makes one complete spiral from the ground floor to the top of the tower, was finished in 1880. The house sits upon a 660-acre farm originally owned by Nezer Sutherland who is buried in a small family cemetery on the grounds.
