SQUIRE'S CASTLE is a picturesque castellated and turreted ruin on Chagrin River Rd. in the N. Chagrin Reservation of the CLEVELAND METROPARKS. The irregular stone structure was originally built as part of the estate of Feargus B. Squire (1850-1932), vice-president and general manager of the STANDARD OIL CO. until 1909. Attracted by the beauty of the Chagrin Valley, Squire purchased 525 acres there in the 1890s. He engaged a New York architect and planned 2 buildings in the style of English or German baronial halls. The existing structure was erected to serve as a gatehouse and caretaker's quarters, and the estate was improved with groves of trees, ponds, bridges, and miles of gravel roadway. The main residence was never built, and Squire built his principal home in Wickliffe.
In 1922 the property was sold to a private land developer, and it was acquired by the Metropolitan Park Board in 1925 as the beginning of the N. Chagrin Reservation. Seriously vandalized and deteriorated, the gatehouse is now only a shell consisting of the stone and brick walls. Popularly known as "Squire's Castle," it is used as a shelterhouse and picnic area by park visitors. Renovations in 1995 included painting the ground floor of the castle with a waxed coating to deter vandalism.
Cavalier, Julian. American Castles (1973).