Would You Buy This Castle a Few Hours from Michigan for $189,000? [PHOTOS]
We keep hearing how crazy the housing market is, right? High prices, houses being snatched up in seconds... Well, there's a whole-ass castle for sale not far from Michigan for just $189,000.
And then, cue the Ohio jokes.
Yes, the castle is in Sidney, Ohio, about two and a half hours from the Michigan border.
I can hear it already:
Yeah, a castle is nice and all, but you'd still be in OHIO.
Yeah, yeah, I know. But it's a castle! If you grew up on Disney movies like I did, it's kind of a dream to live in one.
And this particular castle has a really cool history! Though yes, it needs some work...
According to the Shelby County Historical Society, the once majestic home at 105 N. Walnut Ave. is also known as the Bonnyconnellan Castle.
It was built in 1886 by John D. Loughlin, founder of the Sidney School Furniture Company, which manufactured classroom-related items and once sold "the most progressive school desk of the time". Loughlin also founded the Mary L. Poultry Company, which was touted as "the largest poultry plant in the world".
Local historians believe the home was patterned after a castle by the same name in Cork, Ireland. The name "Bonnyconnellan" actually translates to "beautiful woman":
The castle contains 22 rooms, 4 bathrooms, and several long hallways. Each downstairs room has different wood and a unique free standing staircase leads to the second floor. A spiral staircase also leads from a second floor bedroom to the roof. There is over 5,000 square feet of space in the brick and stone castle. A 30’ by 50’ carriage house sits behind the building. Each of the front turrets contains two rooms with rounded windows and doors to match its contours. The front hallway is ornate with cherry decor, gingerbread, mirrors, and a huge hand-crafted banister. Loughlin used hand-carved, woodwork of walnut, mahogany, cherry and maple throughout the home. A suit of armor nicknamed 'Lancelot' stands guard at the front door.
Welllllllll, that was back in 1996, anyway...
The listing shares more about the castle's current state:
The interior woodwork was stripped and taken off-site during hard times.
The Shelby County Historical Society goes into pretty graphic detail about that, saying,
A carefully planned pillaging has gutted the Castle... Bonnyconnellan survived 113 years of various owners, some perhaps indifferent to her needs, but she could not survive the plan of her current owners to carve her up and sell her part by part.
Yikes, right?
However, it sounds like the original woodwork has been located! And, according to the listing,
[It] may be purchased separately by someone wanting to complete an accurate renovation. It is not too late to bring it back to its' former beauty but it is in need of updates to save it from further disrepair.
What do you think? Up for a project? It could make a cool bed and breakfast, right? Or maybe a haunted house? Well, there may already be some ghosts in residence... yep, more on that and pictures of the grand Bonnyconnellan Castle in the gallery below!