Dark Island

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Dark Island Castle

Dark Island, a prominent feature of the St. Lawrence Seaway, is located in the lower (eastern) Thousand Islands region, near Chippewa Bay. A historic landmark here, "The Towers" was long known as Dark Island Castle until recently renamed Singer Castle. The island itself sits only a few hundred yards south of the Canadian-US border that runs along the river. Because of its proximity to Canada, it was used for rum running during prohibition in the US.

The south side of the island is only a few hundred feet from the shipping channel, and cargo ships frequently pass the island. Because of the depth of the channel on one side, and the relative shallowness on the other, it is very good for sport fishing of Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike.

[edit] Dark Island Castle

The prominent American architect Ernest Flagg designed it for Frederick Gilbert Bourne, president of the Singer Manufacturing Company (now the Singer Corporation), producer of the Singer Sewing Machine.

Dark Island Castle was the last of several "castles" built at the Thousand Islands during a brief interval (1888-1905) and was undertaken as larger Boldt Castle was nearing completion. The architect modeled the stone structure, planned in 1903, on Scottish models described in novels of Sir Walter Scott.

The previous owners, the Martin Family, bought the island for approximately US$ 30,000 in 1965 from an order of monks who inherited it from Frederick Bourne. During this period the castle was called Jorstadt Castle, named for Harold Martin's family surname before immigrating from Norway. Harold and Eloise Martin held regular church services there for over 30 years (through the warmer months), drawing audiences from all over the region - though many attended simply to tour and spend time in the castle. Over the years the castle was looted many times, and, due to the enormity of the property and its monetary demands, a number of original fixtures and artifacts fell into disrepair. This - and the existence of a complex maze of dimly lit secret passageways, complete with a dungeon - contributed to the buildings already strange and haunted mystique.

It was listed for sale for many years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, through such high-end real estate magazines such as Unique Homes with suggestions that it be a "private residence, corporate retreat or hunting lodge"; the price was reduced considerably over that time. The island had originally been listed for sale at $2.5 million www.vladi-private-islands.de sitebefore being purchased for $1.7 million in 2001 by Dark Island Tours, Inc. from the Harold Martin Evangelistic Association. Dark Island Tours is owned by Farhad Vladi and two business partners. Vladi also owns Vladi Private Islands, GmbH, a Hamburg, Germany-based, real estate company that specializes in selling islands. It is now for sale through Sothebys International Realtyfor $22 million. Additional images of the island can be seen here Dark Island for Sale

[edit] References

Mondore, Robert and Patty. Singer Castle. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2005. A photographic survey. http://gold-mountain.com/SingerCastle.html