Carleton Island Villa is an abandoned mansion located on Carleton Island, in upstate New York. The property was built by architect William Miller in 1894 for William O. Wyckoff, who made his fortune helping the Remington Arms Company develop a typewriter.
The island itself is located on the St Lawrence River, less than a mile from the Canadian border. Originally held by the Iroquois, the first time any European settlers took notice of it was in 1721 when Frenchman Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix wrote that its bays could be useful and named it Isle aux Chevreuils (Island of Roe Bucks).
Carelton Island, located on the Canadian border.
Carleton Island, the villa is just noticeable along the shore at the bottom of the island.
The island would later be renamed Carleton Island after Major General Sir Guy Carleton, Governor of the Province of Quebec. It was one of several islands in the area named by British General John Graves Simcoe.
During the Revolutionary War, the British used the island as a military supply transshipment location, naval station, and shipbuilding yard. Fort Haldimand was built by the British on the island to protect it, however, the fort has now long gone and all that is left are a few ruins.
The footprint of where Fort Haldimand once stood, now all remains are a few ruins.
Nobody now lives on the island year-round, however, there are 34 homes there. During the summer months, it is mainly used for fishing and tourism.
THE HISTORY OF CARLETON ISLAND VILLA
In 1894, after William O. Wyckoff had amassed his fortune with the newly invented typewriter, he decided to build a vacation home in a picturesque spot on Carleton Island.
Willam Miller, an architect known for his work at Cornell University, was commissioned to design the villa. Construction of the property finished in 1895, however, it was never the dream home Wyckoff hoped it would be.
The mansion as it looked in the 1920s.
In 1895, after spending just one night in the home, Wyckoff suffered a heart attack and died at the property. His wife had also reportedly died of a heart attack just a few months earlier.
The home was therefore passed down to his son, and the property was used until around 1927. During the Great Depression, the family lost much of their fortune and General Electric took ownership of the property in the 1930s. General Electric planned to use the property as a company retreat.
The interior of the property as it looked in the 1920s.
Bad timing struck once again, with the break out of World War II the company had to abandon its plans. Contractors were then allowed to go in and remove materials such as doors and windows. The marble cladding from the tower base was also taken.
Eventually, the large tower had to be pulled down when it started to pose a risk, by this time nobody had lived in the property for the best part of 20 years. It has now been almost 100 years since anyone lived in the property, and yet it still stands, slowly decaying as the elements take their toll.
The property as it looks today, the tower is long gone.
The current owners live in a nearby cottage and decided to sell the villa some years back. Despite a lot of interest and a great location, the property has been on the market since 2012.
THE HOUSE TODAY
While Carleton Island Villa remains on the market for a fairly modest $495,000, any potential buyer is going to have to spend a lot of money restoring the property.
Because of its island location, the cost of restoring the property would cost any new owner around 30% more than it would cost on the mainland. This is something that is obviously putting off a lot of potential buyers.
The house sits on 6.9 acres of land and has three waterfronts. 198′ at the front of the villa, North Bay 287′ and South Bay 330′. The property has stone foundations and wood frame upper floors that have deteriorated.
Carleton Island Villa features 11 bedrooms, and in total around 50 rooms, including a basement. However, due to deterioration, and the property being stripped in the 40s, there isn’t much left to determine what room was what. Any new owners looking to purchase the property will have to practically start from scratch.
The entrance to the porch, featuring marble steps and a marble arch.
A fireplace, possibly the same one as seen in an earlier photo.
If you liked this property then check out Villa De Vecchi, another long-abandoned property that simply costs too much to renovate.