Exploring ABANDONED Hearthstone Castle (Danbury, CT)

J-MASS INSTAGRAM: @jmassofficial The official theme song for my channel, “City of Steam”, was originally composed by my friend, Jesse Walsh! Check out the full song here on his YouTube channel:    • [J-MASS THEME] City of Steam   On top of a tree-covered hill in Tarrywile Park, the city of Danbury, Connecticut holds a secret—the stone ruins of Hearthstone Castle. Built between 1895 and 1899, this castle was constructed for New York portrait photographer E. Starr Sanford, built for his wife, Emma, as a “honeymoon cottage”. Ironically, she reportedly disliked the castle. The property would change hands several times throughout the early-20th century: it was sold in 1902 to New York industrialist Victor Buck, who renamed it to “Buck’s Castle”. Once again, it was sold in 1918, this time to Charles Darling Parks, another New York industrialist, who gave it to his daughter, Irene, as a wedding gift. It was under the Parks’s ownership when the castle achieved the now-iconic name, “Hearthstone Castle”, a reference to the castle’s eight stone fireplaces. Irene lived there until her death in 1982, and the final residents of the castle were her heirs, the Jennings family. They lived there until 1987, when the castle was finally purchased by the City of Danbury and added to the National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately, ever since this purchase, Hearthstone Castle has suffered from immense decay and deterioration from years of neglect. While there have been plans to renovate the property, they have never materialized, and it continues to remain abandoned. Hearthstone Castle is one of New England’s most iconic stone ruins, and it’s an abandoned site I have visited many times in the past. I’m glad I was finally able to film it and show it off to you all! This castle has such a rich, storied history, changing hands several times between various families and residents. Of course, the design of the castle itself is magnificent, based off of Norman architecture and other contemporary late-19th century castles. The castle is built primarily out of stone and brick, but also possesses wood imported from Italy. Truly, this is an iconic abandoned building, and one of Connecticut’s hidden historical gems. Definitely give this one a visit if you’re ever in Danbury—being located within Tarrywile Park, it’s open to the public to visit! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearths... 00:00 J-MASS Intro 00:41 Introduction to Hearthstone Castle 02:16 History of Hearthstone Castle 07:06 Outro