Glen Eyrie Castle: 1904-1950The General remembered the promise he made to his wife concerning their home and began plans to remodel the house into the Castle we use today. Construction began in 1904 and was completed within two years. During the time of construction, General Palmer and his daughters traveled throughout Europe seeking fireplaces, artifacts and heirlooms to fill the completed castle.The stones for the exterior, brought in from the Bear Creek area, had the appearance of being very old, as Palmer had insisted. The window casings and doorways were of Indiana limestone, shipped in by rail. The engraving on the lintel of the entrance door was the General's creed regarding visitors. It reads, "We should a guest love while he loves to stay, and when he likes not, give him loving way." The estate was kept in superb condition by a host of servants including an Italian butler, a British valet, Swiss dairyman and dairymaids, a chef, a Chinese launderer, lawn keepers, and many others with special talents. DC current had supplied electricity to the estate since 1882. The castle had telephones, some of the first in the west. Guests arrived through electric gates. A gardener grew flowers and vegetables in two hothouses, as well as a spectacular rose garden. One of the first milk pasteurizing plants in the US was installed in the creamery. The estate enjoyed many other luxuries unknown to its time. General Palmer was an excellent horseman and loved to ride over the many miles of trails at Glen Eyrie where he could go through electrically controlled gates operated by batteries. He often joined guests on these trails and in the Garden of the Gods. In 1906, on a ride with his daughters and a friend in the Garden of the Gods, he rode an unfamiliar horse that stumbled and threw him to the ground. He suffered a broken neck and was paralyzed from the third rib down. Though immobile, the General continued to entertain children and give generously to the community until his death on March 13, 1909 at the age of 72. At that time the estate was valued at $3,000,000. After Palmer's death, his two older daughters moved to England, Elsie to marry an Englishman and Dorothy to become a social worker. Marjory married Henry Watt, the resident doctor of Glen Eyrie, and moved from the Glen to Colorado Springs to open a tubercular clinic, as Marjory herself suffered from the disease. The girls offered the estate to the city, but it was too expensive to maintain. The estate was sold in 1916 to a group of Oklahoma businessmen who called themselves the Glen Eyrie Companies. They paid $150,000 for the property, planning to use it as a private resort and country club, complete with an 18-hole golf course. The Carriage House became The Black Horse Tavern (the name probably taken from General Palmer's black horse Senor). The castle was to be used as the clubhouse and the Glen was in fact platted into 150 home sites. Architectural sketches exist for several of the luxury homes. World War I, however, was at its height, and people were not interested in the cost of having a home at a private country club. Due to the lack of sales, these Oklahoma businessmen were delighted with an offer from Alexander Smith Cochran to purchase the estate for $450,000. Mr. Cochran, a multi-millionaire rug manufacturer from New York, also purchased the Douglas, Lansing, Austin, Newton, and Fairley Ranches north of Glen Eyrie. In 1922, fearing the consequences of a divorce, Cochran transferred ownership of Glen Eyrie to his holding company, the Hillbright Corporation. In 1925, he built the Pink House and closed the Castle. In August 1927, the estate was put up for auction in two parcels. For Parcel One, Glen Eyrie and the ranchland to the south, the bid was $250,000. Parcel Two included the ranchland to the north with a bid of $50,000. The high bidder was Harold Lumberg, a New York attorney. He did not close within the sixty days allowed, however, and the estate remained with the Hillbright Corporation. Mr. Cochran died in 1929 and Glen Eyrie remained on the market until 1938, when it was purchased by George W. Strake, an independent oil producer from Houston, Texas. He used Glen Eyrie as a summer home and cattle ranch. He added two wings to the Pink House where his family lived while at Glen Eyrie. In 1950 the estate again was placed on the market, this time for $500,000. Sources include Stephanie Carter, Betty Froisland, Len Froisland, Forrest Graham, Donald McGilchrist, and Betty Skinner. The Palmer Family: 1836-1903 Glen Eyrie Castle: 1904-1950 The Navs: 1951-Today |
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