Benjamin Ames Kimball

Disheveled castle is developers' dream house.
Effort is underway to restore railroad magnet's home to its former glory.
By Scott Calvert

GILFORD - All of the windows have long since been broken, vandals have gutted the interior and the outside masonry is in terrible shape.

But by next summer, two developers hope to return century-old Kimball's Castle to its former glory, as the centerpiece of a new country inn with breathtaking views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the White Mountains.

With approval from the town considered likely and financing arrangements moving along, the $3.2 million project should begin later this fall, according to developers Don Leavitt and Rick Miller.

The plans include restoring the stone castle and several smaller buildings on the 20-acre grounds, and building a three-level addition and a new access road from Route 11.  In all, the inn will have 20 rooms with fireplaces and private baths with Jacuzzis.  Two gourmet restaurants will be open to the public.

Town Administrator David Caron said if financing can be arranged, the inn would be a "nice addition" because of the tax revenue, jobs and tourists it would likely bring into the town.

The key issue remains the financing.  Leavitt said he and Miller have secured a $1.25 million loan but must raise about $2 million by selling new shares of their limited partnership, which will own the new inn.  He said he expects the money will be raised by November so that construction can begin soon afterward.

If all goes according to plan, the first guests will arrive at the Kimball's Castle Inn and Restaurant, as it will be called, in late spring or early summer, Leavitt said.

Once the trees are thinned out, the hilltop site will have a panoramic view of Lake Winnipesaukee below - from Alton to Wolfeboro to Meredith - and the White Mountains, including Mount Washington, in the distance.

It was that vista which caught railroad magnate Benjamin Kimball's attention more than a hundred years ago.  Legend has it that Kimball, president of the Boston-Montreal Railroad, patterned the castle he built there after one he spotted during a cruise down the Rhine River in Germany.

The castle was the family's summer home from it's construction in 1894-95 until the last surviving heir, Charlotte Kimball, died childless in 1960.  The castle's problems soon began, Leavitt said.

After a trust established by her will didn't carry out her wishes of creating a nature preserve, the state's attorney general temporarily turned the property over to Gilford in the 1970s, he said.  While the town tried to find a new buyer, vandals gutted the castle, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The restoration project has been in the works since 1991, when Gilford town officials chose Miller and Leavitt's plan from among several others.  A year early the two men had seen newspaper articles about the vacant, deteriorating castle and the town's attempts to find a developer to buy it.

They thought they could do for Kimball's Castle what they had done with the Red Hill Inn in Center Harbor.  It also had been a rundown summer home before the duo bought and restored it nine years ago.

Leavitt said Merrimac Corporate Financing of Salem, which is handling the offering, must wait until the state formerly approves it.

Most of the $3.2 million will fund the restoration and start-up costs for the inn.  Leavitt said $900,000 will pay for a new septic system, the access road and restoration of Victorian rock gardens.

The developers will pay Gilford $100,000 for the 20-acre Lockes Hill nature preserve that Charlotte Kimball wanted.

Despite the years of neglect, Leavitt said the castle is structurally sound. Its 6,500 square feet will house the inn's four premier rooms, which open onto a two-story foyer with an octagonal skylight and ornate woodwork.

The 8,500-square-foot addition, which architect John Otte classified as "eclectic, will house four eooms as well.  There will also be rooms in several existing buildings on the site, including the stable and chauffeur's cottage.

The old Lakeport railroad station, which Benjamin Kimball's company built in 1901, will be moved to the castle site and will house three guest rooms, Leavitt said.  It is currently in storage at the Laconia Municipal Airport.

On Monday Leavitt and Miller will present a revised site plan for the project to the Gilford Planning Board.  On Sept. 27, they will go before the town's zoning board to request a variance because parts of the 46-foot addition will exceed the town's height limit.

©2004 Peter K Kimball