Winnekenni Castle

Dr Nichols was a physician, pharmacist, inventor, author, railroad director and agriculturist. In 1861, he bought the beautifully situated Darling Farm at Haverhill where he could test his chemical fertilizers. He chose the highest point of the farm, overlooking Lake Kenoza, on which to build a castle: “we desire to prove to farmers and others in a practical way the value of boulder rocks (so common on almost every New England Farm) as building materials”. Work began in 1873 and it was completed two years later. 

The exterior was unquestionably Gothic, with walls four feet thick in places, but the interior incorporated several distinct styles: the thick, wooden Gothic door led through to the principal reception rooms: a Grecian Drawing Room; a Pompeian Dining Room; and, a Roman-tiled, black-walnut panelled library. The landing on the second floor led to nine bedrooms and a "bathing room". From the roof (accessed by the largest of the four towers) the view stretched over no less than 17 surrounding towns and villages; 3 counties; 3 states; 2 mountains (Monadnock and Agamenticus) and the ocean beyond!

In 1885, ill-health forced Dr Nichols to sell his castle and 27 of its surrounding acres. The new owner was his cousin, William George Webb (1832-1896) of Salem, who added a wooden observatory and continued to make use of it as a summer home for a further ten years with his wife, Annie, and their two surviving children. The Webbs were opera fanatics, and Annie personally sponsored the famed American Grande Dame of the Opera, Geraldine Farrar (1882-1967). 

By 1895, William Webb was less than a year from death and so Mrs Webb sold the castle to the City of Haverhill. Its wonderful interior was lost to a fire in 1969, but the exterior has since been cleaned and remains as sturdy as ever. Today, the castle is a popular tourist attraction and serves the community by hosting a wide range of events.