How the Carleton Villa Came to Be

The Wyckoff’s found the most desirable spot for their Summer home on the tip of Carleton Island. They enlisted the help of architect William Henry Miller, known for his work on Cornell University, to design their mansion. It would sit on 6.9 acres of land with 3 waterfronts: 198′ in front of the Villa, North Bay 287′ and South Bay 330′, and would have in total around 50 rooms, including 11 bedrooms and a basement.

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Sadly, a month from the completion of construction in 1895 Mrs. Frances Wyckoff died from a heart attack. She would never see the finished Carleton Villa. When it was finally finished being built, William Wyckoff stayed only one night in the Villa. Perhaps his heart ached that he could not share this event with his recently deceased wife, because that night the once Union Captain and business mogul also suffered from a heart attack and passed away. 

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Wyckoff had 2 sons and the house passed onto his youngest, Clarence, but the family lost most of their fortune during the Great Depression. The Wyckoff family would retain ownership of the villa for nearly 3 decades. Before 1910 the Carleton Villa would start appearing as available for summer rental in publications such as Country Life In America, which would list thousands of high-end rentals across the United States. The publication described the Carleton Villa as being fully furnished, made of Gouverneur Marble. 

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In the 1920s, the elder brother Edward G. Wyckoff began selling some of the estate's land. Shortly after that the property was put up for sale. There were no buyers for several years, so in 1928 the Wyckoff Villa would be put up for auction along with a large amount of personal property which ranged from livestock, 70 tons of hay, wagons, sleighs, thousands of books, rugs, guns, game trophies and more. They described the auction as including the “Villa property itself, suitable for club house or small hotel or gentleman’s home; 360 acres including fertile farm and area convertible into sporty 18 hole gift course at low cost; adequate boathouses, farm buildings, etc.”

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The Carleton Villa was reportedly sold in the auction for $15,000 to an Ithaca bank, and there was talk of the island being turned into a historical tourism destination. Eventually in the 1930’s, the Carleton Villa and 300 acres of land passed into the ownership of the General Electric company (GE). Due to its attractive location and size, GE reportedly intended to use it as a company retreat to include a theater that would seat 500 people, 38 cottages, 3 golf courses, some tennis courts, a baseball diamond, and developing roads and water and sewer systems and drainage… But the plans were abandoned when first the Great Depression then World War II began. Contractors were allowed to go in and remove materials such as doors and windows, including some of the stained glass. The marble cladding from the tower base and essentially anything removable was taken. 

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In 1943, W. E. Dodge purchased the property and it was said they would try to salvage the Villa, or at least dismantle it to save on property taxes, but this was never completed. Partially dismantled and fully abandoned, unoccupied since 1927, the home was left exposed to the elements to crumble. The once great tower had to be removed as it was deemed a hazard. The villa was in dangerous disrepair, and everyone who might be interested balked at the challenge and potential costs of fixing or rebuilding it. 

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The island is only accessible by water, which makes fixing it even more daunting. Despite this, its long-time owners still didn’t have the heart to tear it down, hoping that the right new owner would come along to restore the Carleton Villa and give it a new life again. 

The Present and Future of the Carleton Villa

Once known as the most grand estate in the Thousand Islands, the Carleton Villa has been slowly deteriorating behind barbed wire and “Keep Out” signs. Only those passing by on boat or who have been looking at the photos from the real estate listing have seen its majesty in nearly a century. 

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The last owners live in a cottage nearby, and have been waiting for the one who would accept the challenge and bring the Carleton Villa back to its former glory. Their real estate agent reported that they would receive a few inquiries every week from all over the world for years. But no one was willing to take on the gauntlet of reviving this castle - Until Ron Clapp, a long time Florida and Hawaii real estate investor, came to see it in person along with Janaina Leite, his partner and Florida Realtor.

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The once grandiose villa stood before him covered in cobwebs and graffiti as the potential new owner looked it over, considering everything that it would take to make this into a place where people from all over the world could come to enjoy it and learn about its story. While it has a stone foundation, parts of the home are not currently structurally sound enough to use, and there are currently no utilities connected to the villa. Even though there is electricity on the island and water from the river, this project would require an intimidating amount of rebuilding from scratch. 

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Then Ron noticed in one of the upper windows what may have been a tag left behind from a former vandal. It was as if the house itself spoke in a final desperate plea: “RON” written clear as day looking right back at him.