LITTLE FALLS, NY
HISTORY
The beginnings of what is now Beardslee Castle actually start with a man named John Beardslee in the
year 1781. John was Connecticut native and a man well-versed in many vocations. Well-versed in
architecture, engineering and mechanics, he ventured out into the world like many of his era did to use their
gifts and knowledge to secure their fortune and establish themselves in society.
His story begins in Whiteside, N.Y. in 1786, where he constructed mills financed by the inspired idea of
selling shares in the dividends to be generated by the goods that they would produce. Eventually his own
profit was earned by selling his shares in the mills. The state of New York was duly impressed enough to
commission him to build more mills for use by the Oneida Indians. At this point a burgeoning career took flight
as he continued to construct more mills, bridges and municipal buildings in the Mohawk Valley area.
Beardslee eventually settled in East Creek, where the development that followed there would be called
Beardslee Mills. The population grew to around 2000 people as the town continued to prosper and grow in the
1800s. This good fortune was short-lived however as with the opening of the Erie Canal, more trade was
concentrated elsewhere. The result was a town that underwent great hardship, eventually leading to most
residents moving elsewhere in order to survive. Ironically, John Beardslee died the same month the Canal
was opened, October of 1825, as if to definitively signal the end of a prosperous era. He was laid to rest in the
family mausoleum in East Creek.
Four years prior to John's death, his son Augustus graduated from Union College and quickly displayed
the same work ethic and business acumen his father did. Augustus went on to practice law and was
appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to attend a convention in Virginia for the purposes of quelling the
movement toward civil war. While those efforts failed, he proved to be a shrewd investor and his growing
fortune resulted in the construction of the Beardslee Estate in 1860.
Augustus and Helen Beardslee had a son named Guy who, like his father and grandfather before him,
grew up to be an industrious, well-rounded and successful individual. Born in 1850, he took a somewhat
different path that his predecessors by being appointed at West Point (albeit barely making the grade) at age
21 and after graduating, found himself sent to Fort Niobrara in Nebraska. A year later, resigning his
commission, he returned home to handle the family's affairs.
It was back home that a tremendous business opportunity
practically fell into his lap. He was approached by engineers
representing a New York firm wanting to develop power at the old
Beardslee City location. While Guy agreed in principal, the firm
could not raise the agreed-upon price of $40,000. Sensing the
prospect of a lucrative payday, Guy used his own engineering
background and - with the help of two other friends with a
background in electricity named Edison and Tesla - sought to
develop the project himself. Soon the farm was almost fully
mechanized (l.) making it the first rural farm in the United States to
have electric power. Realizing the potential, Guy offered the same
to other farms in the immediate area and eventually supplied
power to other locations farther away. In 1911 the Adirondack
Power and Light Company (below) bought out Guy, in the process
making Guy and his family wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.
It was in this time of prosperity that a tragic event struck the Beardslee family. A fire had started and
quickly engulfed the castle, leaving nothing but the walls and foundation behind. Reports circulated that the
fire was intentionally set by a man seen wandering around the property to cover up the fact that he had
robbed the home. The many fine furnishings and curios the family had collected in their travels overseas now
were gone forever.
While the first floor was rebuilt, the upstairs was left empty with no roof installed to replace the original
lost in the fire. The back of the property was converted into a garden area. The family split time between the
castle and another home in Florida until Guy passed away in 1937. His wife Ethel followed in 1941 to join her
husband in the family plot in East Creek. They had no children.
A series of new ownerships was to follow. The estate's executor Gertrude Shriver, sister of Edith, sold the
property to one Adam Horn who along with his wife lived there for only a year. They in turn sold it to Anton
"Pop" Christensen who renamed the castle "The Manor" and opened it to the public. It remained this way for
45 years until Pop grew very ill. Knowing his days were numbered he attempted to take his own life on
multiple occasions, finally succeeding in doing so in what is now the side entrance foyer, but what was then
the ladies room. His daughters sold off most of what was left of the Beardslee belongings left behind and sold
the castle to a restaurateur named John Dedla who operated it as such until 1976.
Joe Casilio was the next to
make a go of The Manor, but he
felt a name change was in order so
he dubbed it "Beardslee Manor"
and turned the basement into a
pub (l.), renovated the second floor
and installed a new roof over the
castle. It was at this time that the
ghost stories began to reach a
fever pitch and paranormal
investigators flocked to the
restaurant. The staff was
encouraged to relate their own
stories to the customers and
interest remained fairly high until
the burden of an absentee owner
and the poor quality of the food
served combined to doom the
troubled building.
In 1989 yet another fire
wreaked havoc on the
establishment. It began in the kitchen area and completely destroyed that wing. The castle closed again and
eventually fell prey to decay and vandalism. There was also collateral damage from broken water lines that
continued to run, flooding and damaging the exterior and interior of the castle.
It remained this way until 1994, when present owner Randall Brown purchased the property and began
extensive renovations that lasted a year and a half. One of the first orders of business was again to re-name
the manor "Beardslee Castle" to honor its original inhabitants. The second was to enlist a catholic priest to
bless the castle (reasons why to follow). From the restaurant's website (www.beardsleecastle.com): "Nearly
every square inch of the Castle has been restored or rebuilt. The original oak parquet floors, covered for the
preceding twenty years with wall-to-wall carpeting have been returned to their glistening shine. The stonework
interior with its wide gothic arches have been thoroughly hand cleaned of 140 years of dirt and soot. The
wood paneled ceilings have been restored to a warm luster highlighted by art deco and mission style lighting
fixtures. The second floor banquet room features beautiful floor-to-ceiling plate glass windows giving a
panoramic view of the valley. A completely new kitchen services all three floors."
THE RESTLESS SPIRITS OF BEARDSLEE CASTLE
A young woman in a white gown has been reported throughout the castle, but in particular standing,
sitting or walking by a certain window. It is said she is called Abigail by staff and was a bride who died the
night before her wedding. Psychics have felt the presence of a woman dressed in a white dress with a high
collar. Construction workers have noticed a very strong smell of perfume in an otherwise empty Carriage
House. Psychics have identified Abigail as a “friendly” ghost who loves the castle and the grounds. A former
employee was in the cellar one night getting a case of wine when she turned and saw the woman dressed in
the white gown standing behind her. She recognized her as Abigail because of a picture that hung inside the
banquet hall. From that point what she saw chilled her to the bone. Abigail turned to walk up the stairs and
when she reached the top she floated across the floor toward the bathroom. The door opened to let her in
without being touched and closed behind her as she passed through it. When the employee went to check,
the bathroom was empty.
In the mid-1700s, the grounds of the castle and the surrounding area were a central supply point for the
militia in the French and Indian War. Psychic researchers have identified the spirit of Native Americans as a
strong presence in and around the castle. This could also be in part because Guy Beardslee, upon resigning
his Army commission in Nebraska, returned with three Sioux war bonnets. These Indian artifacts could also
be drawing a spirit response as well. These artifacts were lost in the first fire at the castle in 1919.
One night staff members were playing with a Oiuja board and allegedly encountered some not-so-friendly
ghosts. Lights went out and one employee was hit so violently in the chest that he was sent across the room.
The next morning, tables and chairs were found overturned, and silverware, broken bottles and glasses were
strewn across the room.
Employees have also reported footsteps in an empty main
hallway, doors that appear to open and close by themselves
and music and singing emanating from the empty second
floor. Members of the staff have experienced anything from
whispers to screams that have so frightened them that they
ran from the room and left the building. Bartenders claim they
will reach for a specific glass or item and it will move as they
reach for it as if a mischievous game is being played.
In the 1950s, drivers on Route 5, which runs directly in
front of the castle (below), reported seeing strange lights come
out of the woods at great speeds directly at their vehicle.
Some even claimed the lights pursued them down the road. There were a number of accidents, some fatal,
that were blamed on these phantom lights. In one case a woman claimed her husband was blinded by one of
these lights and was forced off the road. He was killed in the crash, but she managed to survive. From 1994-
2000 there were no fewer than 4 vehicles who drove off the road on a 1/4-mile straight stretch of Route 5 that
ran past the entrance to the castle. There is rampant speculation that the strange floating lights are in fact
reflections from Beardslee’s lantern as he searched for a child who’d gone missing many years ago. To this
end, a young child has been seen by drivers walking on the side of the roadway. Pop Christensen's grand-
daughter claimed to have seen a lantern floating by itself in the rear of the property one night.
At the Beardslee family mausoleum in East Creek, weeds will not grow in the path leading to the old
family mausoleum, though it is seldom tended. Many young people who used the abandoned area as a party
spot years ago swear they would constantly hear voices and witness more strange lights. A strange rainbow-
type anomaly appeared in a photo taken by a Syracuse police officer at the gravesite that could not be
explained even by police forensic photo experts.
A more ghastly story involved the mausoleum (below) being broken into years ago and the coffins of the
Beardslee family desecrated by the culprits. More ghoulish is the fact that the skull of Augustus Beardslee
was found in the closet of one of the people arrested in connection with the crime.
But the strangest of stories may involve a couple who were recently driving down Route 5 one night when
they hit a girl who had walked out in front of them. They quickly called police who arrived to find no body
anywhere, nor any marks on the vehicle. Where this takes an even more bizarre turn was that the entire
incident was witnessed by the occupants of another vehicle that was travelling in the opposite direction and
actually joined in the search.
Strange mist in the "Dungeon" of Beardslee Castle
BEARDSLEE CASTLE
