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Piatt Castles

Heading north on 68 through Urbana I realized I used to drive that route all the time in college because I would head up to Mad River Mountain to snowboard whenever I had the chance, usually late at night and always alone. It was raining on and off last Monday but by the time we reached the properties it was breezy and beautiful.

I would not call these structures castles and neither would you, as they are more like stately homes in the design of vague European castle-like structures. But in the late 1800s they must have seemed incredibly grand and unique for the landscape, as they still are today. What an eclectic bunch the Piatt family was, for two brothers to build such  grandiose homes a mile apart.

Ironically they knew right away that their homes were of public interest, because shortly after building them they were opened up to tours for money. The Piatt’s that lived at Mac-A-Cheek sequestered themselves in only two rooms of the home to keep the rest open and available to an enthusiastic paying public. These days it’s still a great visit, the houses and the grounds are beautiful if a bit expensive at $20 per person to see both estates.

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• I apologize if certain parts of the site are out of whack. I've updated the back end and am working on making this theme work, so in the meantime there might be some wonky posts. #