The Castle on Gibbet Hill

By Cheri Dumont When the Algonquin hunted and gathered here, the land was thickly forested and dotted with lakes. Centuries later, General William Amos Bancroft built what is now known as the Castle—and set the scene for 100 years of drama. This is the surprising story of the Castle on Gibbet Hill in Groton, Massachusetts—and the hundreds of lives lived out here. From rail strikes and TB hospitals to sporting hijinks and purebred cattle...General Bancroft seemed to have it all, so why did the Castle live out the century in other hands? Cheri Dumont presents new evidence.