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264:, modeled after a medieval banqueting room. It was 55 feet long, 34 feet wide and had a vaulted ceiling 34 feet high at its peak. At one end was a massive stone fireplace with a metal hood. Josephine thought the hood was too shiny and had it distressed by beating it with rusty chains, a treatment used on fireplaces throughout the house.
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The current owner, the
Presbytery of Blackhawk, is an association of 75 Presbyterian congregations in Illinois. Originally, Stronghold operated as a summer camp and was housed almost entirely within the castle. But in the intervening years, the center’s mission has grown. It now functions as a
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The
Strongs wanted their family and guests to dine together, so Josephine had a 20-foot by 6-foot table built for the dining room. It was made from a massive oak tree and weighed a half a ton. It was so large, it had to be placed in the room before the exterior wall could be completed. It was so
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Tying the levels of the castle together was a five-story circular tower. The staircase, which used unseen steel rods to cantilever each tread out from the wall, seemed to float as it spiraled up the height of the tower. At the top was an observation deck with commanding views of the surrounding
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four-season conference, retreat and camping center. In a typical year, it hosts over 12,000 visitors of many faiths. One of its most popular events is the Olde
English Faire. Every October, performers and people dressed in period costumes wander about the castle grounds and sell their wares.
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Just off the Great Hall was a circular library lined with bookcases. Its paneling was stained with coffee grounds to simulate age. One bookcase was designed to swing backwards revealing a secret passageway. It led to a chapel which was finished many years after the original construction.
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In 1932, Josephine hired an unemployed
Russian artist, Nicholas Kaisaroff, to decorate parts of the castle. He painted the ceiling of the library in a faux-medieval style. He also painted a fresco on the upper walls of the tower. These were based on characters in
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To accommodate its expanded range of activities, the center has built five modern buildings and a number of rustic cabins and structures. The newest of these is
Heritage Lodge, which mimics the Tudor style of the castle and can accommodate 32 people.
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at San Simeon. The rustic Strong family retreat, which they called
Stronghold, was in many ways the antithesis of San Simeon. Stronghold encouraged informal living and had many features intended to delight visitors, especially children.
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The castle was built by Walter Strong as a summer home for his wife, Josephine, and their five children. In 1928, Strong bought 360 acres of wooded property north of Oregon, Illinois which included a limestone bluff overlooking the Rock
306:. He was 47 years old. Josephine continued to divide her time between her Winnetka home and Stronghold until her death in 1961. In 1962, Stronghold was sold to the
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The family spent their first summer there in 1930. Walter Strong scarcely had time to enjoy
Stronghold. On May 10, 1931, he died of a heart attack at his home in
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style architecture was influenced by Strong’s travels to Europe, his
English ancestry, and the historical novels of
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Today, it serves as a year-round camping and retreat center, hosting summer camps and an
240:. Some think the castle was also a retort to fellow newspaper publisher and competitor,
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heavy that the floor sagged and had to be jacked up from the basement.
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Walter Strong at
Stronghold. Courtesy Strong Family Collection.
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405:"Stronghold Castle: An orphan's tribute to family"
284:countryside. At the time of its construction,
30:Stronghold Castle, as seen from the south-east
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383:Call, Keith (2005). "Stronghold Castle".
182:, it was built between 1928 and 1930 by
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451:"Stronghold Camp & Retreat Center"
291:was visible around a bend down river.
387:. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.
361:"A new chapter for Stronghold Castle"
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423:"Stronghold Camp and Retreat Center"
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403:Linden, Chris (15 July 2011).
359:McGinty, John (5 March 2019).
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279:The staircase up the tower.
69:1922 Illinois Route 2 North
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229:, cost $ 85,000.
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492:Houses completed in 1930
455:Presbytery of Blackhawk
242:William Randolph Hearst
145:Design and construction
97:42.045479°N 89.343276°W
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194:Presbyterian Church.
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113:Construction started
409:Northwest Quarterly
365:Northwest Quarterly
308:Presbyterian Church
297:Grimms’ Fairy Tales
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40:General information
487:Houses in Illinois
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304:Winnetka, Illinois
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198:Olde English Faire
189:Chicago Daily News
289:Black Hawk Statue
223:Towner K. Webster
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164:Stronghold Center
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314:The center
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204:The castle
176:Rock River
88:89°20′36″W
85:42°02′44″N
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129:Client
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217:River
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61:, USA
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