Next stop: 550 Riverside Drive, the castle. Designed by Carl Hoke, a well-known Toledo architect who lived in Eagle Point County, it was originally built for Harry France, president of the France and White House Stone Company. The property was originally a farm and apple orchard that the France family purchased in the 1920s.
The architect did extensive research of the Coswell District of England before building the home. He brought a stonemason from England to create the outside walls, and another Englishman served as the landscape designer. The home, which features a gabled roof and Gothic-style waterspout, includes seven fireplaces built with Indiana limestone to help warm the home.
The home has a slate-covered foyer, leaded glass windows, an elevator, and a dining room floor of Italian tile. The second floor has seven bedrooms and four full baths. The third-floor attic contains six cedar closets, one for each member of the original family that lived there.
Mr. France's gun room was housed in the tower of the home.
