History of Wilson Castle

The castle’s construction began in 1885, as instructed by Doctor & Lady Johnson. Doctor Johnson was a Vermonter who went to England to study medicine. While there he met & married a wealthy lady of the aristocracy. After 7 and a half years of planning and construction the castle was completed at the sum of $1,300,000. The Johnson’s remained in the castle for only a brief time.

From the 1880’s until 1939, the castle was bought & sold numerous times. In 1939, a radio engineer named Herbert Lee Wilson, came to Vermont. He was a pioneer in the AM radio field and built radio stations all over the world. He was looking for a new location to build another station and a summer home for his family. He purchased the estate and the history of Wilson’s Castle officially starts. In the early 1940’s, Col. Wilson was noted for his engineering and radio work in Vermont. He designed radio station WHWB, owned by the Wilson’s and Charles Bates through the Central Vermont Broadcasting Corporation. Other radio work included WSYB in Rutland, Vermont which had the first directional antenna in the state of Vermont. Col. Wilson also provided engineering on WCAX channel 3 television station in Burlington, Vermont.

When America joined WWII in 1941, Herbert Wilson joined the Army Signal Corps, from which he retired in the 1950’s as rank of Colonel. He retired to the castle, and in 1962, opened it for tours. He passed away in 1981 at the age of 82 and left the estate to his daughter, Blossom Wilson Davine Ladabouche. Blossom passed in 2010 and currently her daughter Denise Davine is the owner/operator.