Craigdarroch Castle

The impressive home contains 39 rooms in its 25,000 plus square-feet, covering four floors. There's 87 steps in the stairs to the tower where you can view the city of Victoria, Canada, the Olympic Mountains, and the bay. The Victorian mansion, built between 1887 and 1890, is a fine example of what became

known of as a "bonanza castle," an opulent home built by a wealthy industrialist. It is believed to have cost around half a million dollars when it was built - an unheard of cost for that day. It included granite shipped from British Columbia, tile from San Francisco, and an oak staircase preconstructed in Chicago. The mansion originally sat on 26 acres and included a formal, English garden. Not bad for a Scottish immigrant!

Robert Dunsmuir came to the area as an immigrant from Scotland and made his fortune from the coal on Vancouver Island. He amassed huge wealth, as his home reflects. From the detailed stained glass windows and exquisite woodwork to all the modern conveniences of his day and elegant furnishings, the house is a wonder to see. Robert died in 1889, leaving his entire estate to his wife, Joan, and she lived in the home until her death in 1908.

Today the castle is owned by the Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society, a private, non-profit organization. It is open to the public for an admission fee. In fact, the historical site has around 150,000 visitors a year, and, despite this fact, isn't all that well-known. It's certainly a site worth visiting.

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