Welcome to Ramsey’s Castle! The current home of the Ramsey, Golf and Country Club, the “castle” was originally build as part of a 220-acre estate called Arlena Towers,” which was carefully developed over a 30-year period beginning in the early 1900’s. The original mansion was a private residence of ancient Norman architecture and was modeled after the famous Ramsey Abbey, which still stands in Hampshire; County of Hants in England erected by King Edward the Elder about 900 A.D. Many of the materials for the mansion were brought over from England.
The elaborate landscaping, plantings and seedlings of the estate were begun by the original owner, Arthur Brandeis of department store and theatrical frame. The second owner, Joseph DeWyckoff, co-founder of the Vanadium Corporation of America, completed the beautification of the property. The 50-acre seeded lawn, now part of the golf course, was considered the largest and best-kept lawn in the East.
Three beautiful lakes were developed on the property, the largest, Crystal Lake, covering 30 acres. This is where your journey will begin. Enjoy the view! It’s gorgeous all year long. Then, pick up the coordinates for your next destination. You may drive or walk the .3 miles to get there. Notice the beautiful stonework in the mansion clubhouse (the castle!) as well as in the pro shop. Later, check out some of the older houses between the clubhouse and the main gates on Franklin Turnpike. Those with similar stonework were all original to the Estate.
The mansion was surrounded by towering trees and beautiful gardens filled with hundreds of imported and rare varieties. It is one of these gardens that your journey will end. It is best to enter the garden by the “ceremony” sign and descend down the center steps. If there is a wedding going on, it would be best to postpone Stage Two until another time!
In 1940, the DeWyckoff Estate was sold to the National House & Farms Association for residential development and was renamed the Ramsey County Club Estates. Each purchaser agreed to abide by the rules of Club by accepting title and was issued a share of stock, a practice that is still in effect today. Approximately 40 homes were built before World War II forced a halt to construction due to materials shortage. Being unable to continue building, the National House & Farms Association offered the lots for sale and agreed to turn over the mansion and surrounding property, including the original golf course, to existing homeowners. This became the Ramsey Golf & Country Club.
The early members contributed many hours towards maintaining and improving the facilities. There was no staff of any kind and all cooking, serving, cleaning and gardening was done by these members. In 1953, the membership began a series of improvements which included doubling the size of the ballroom, adding a patio, and filling in the sunken gardens to provide a parking lot. In 1961, a capital assessment was approved to finance future improvements, and to purchase an additional 17 acres of land to expand the golf course to 18 holes. Much later, the bowling alley was converted into a Pro Shop, and a warm-up room for the platform tennis courts which were constructed in 1978.
Further renovation plans had been approved to enlarge the kitchen and update the ballroom and Grille room facilities when a disastrous fire occurred on February 14th, 1986. After the fire, nothing remained but the original stone walls, which still stand today. The renovation plans were quickly converted to reconstruction plans, and 17 months later the Clubhouse had been authentically restored. Today there are over 550 homes in the organization. Today the "castle" houses a public bar and restaurant, catering facilities and administrative offices.
Important: Please don't enter the garden at Stage 2 if there is a wedding or another event taking place, mostly likely to happen in the afternoon in the spring or summer.