Dark Island NY New York
Frequently Asked Questions
In Chippewa Bay, on the lower St. Lawrence, in the heart of the Thousand Islands. The island is reached only by boat: expedition ships land their passengers by tender.
One thing, and it's enough: Singer Castle, a complete castle with keep, turrets and granite walls, occupying almost the entire wooded islet. There is no village and no shop on site.
Frederick Bourne, president of the Singer Manufacturing Company, the sewing machine empire. He bought the island in 1902 and built a half-million-dollar hunting lodge on it, a colossal sum at the time.
Twenty-eight. The architect drew on a Walter Scott novel to design this fortress, finished with obsessive attention to detail: carefully dressed stone, dark woodwork, vaulted galleries.
Yes, and they're the highlight of the tour. A network of concealed passages let the owner move unseen and watch his guests through peepholes hidden behind the panelling. Guides reveal several entrances along the way.
The guided tour runs about 45 minutes across four levels furnished with original pieces. With the terraces and a walk around the grounds, allow half a day at most.
Chippewa Bay and the international shipping channel, where commercial vessels pass on their way to the Great Lakes. In clear weather the view carries far over both the Canadian and American shores.
Good shoes: there are many old staircases. Also plan for there being nothing else on the island — the island, the castle and the river are the whole programme.
Because most of the retreats that great American fortunes built in the archipelago during the Gilded Age have vanished or closed. The Dark Island house, intact and furnished, remains one of the most complete survivors.
June through early October, the Thousand Islands sailing season. Fall colours the islet's conifers and the surrounding shores, but the air cools fast on the river: bring a windbreaker.
