In 1914 Tom Plant purchase 6300 acres in the mountains of New Hampshire. His land included the land to the top of seven mountins in the Ossipee Mountain Rance down to the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee. He subsequently hired over 600 craftsmen to build and Arts and Crafts style home he called Lucknow, a stable with living quarters, two gate houses, a 100 foot greenhouse, farm buildings and 45 miles of carriage and bridal trails. 
The Carriage House
One of the gate houses
Rainbow Trout in the pond - fish from this pond were used in the movie On Golden Pond
Hydrangeas on the Castle grounds
The home was an enormous 16 room mansion that measured between 9,000 and 10,000 square feet.
Castle in the Clouds
Poor investments led Plant to lose the bulk of his wealth and he finally offered to sell his home for $750,000 in 1920. A friend gave him a mortgage on the house which allowed Plant to live there until his death in 1941. Upon his death the foreclosure of the loan on the house left Plant's wife penniless. The house, renamed the Castle in the Clouds changed hands several times and was finally purchased by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust for $5.9 million. Today the trust works to maintain 5500 acres, the castle, the Carriage House and the two gate houses.
We rode with Earl and Eunice to visit the castle, and a trolly took us from the parking lot on a winding road to the castle where we were given a brief history of Tom Plant and his Lucknow home. We were then allowed to tour the home and grounds on our own. Even though it was built in 1914, the Castle in the Clouds had many technological conveniences such as hydroelectric power, ammonia-brine cooled refrigeration, central-vacuum and intercom systems and a water-fed fire suppression system. The interior appointments were hand-crafted by the best artisans of the time and included such modern conveniences as needle-spray full body showers in every bathroom. A built in pipe organ could be played manually or mechanically. Panoramic views of the mountains and Lake Winnispesaukee can be made from many different rooms within the house.
A view from the Men's room in the Carriagehouse
A view from the backyard of the Castle
The grounds around the house were landscaped and also afforded amazing views of the mountains and lake.
Following our tour, we went to Hart's Turkey Restaurant for lunch and then returned to the campground to prepare for our travel to Cooperstown, New York tomorrow.
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