Boat Tour Around Dark Island Related Link - Singer Castle Website

Dark Island is one of the most interesting places in the Thousand Islands. The island is located in the St. Lawrence River just west of the main shipping channel of the Seaway and accros the channel from Cedar Island State Park. Near Seaway maker 168, the island is visible to all passing trafic on the St. Lawrence Seaway. It is also visible from the New York mainland at Chippewa Bay and from the Canadian mainland at Patterson Point.

Originally sold to William H. Harrison Jr. and W. Harrison in 1892, they held the island for 11 years before selling it to Frederick Bourne. Bourne was the President of the Singer Manufacturing Company. He helped build the company into one of the largest international companies of its time with world wide recognition and manufacturing plants in Scotland, Australia, and Russia. Bourne was the one credited with developing the idea that a Singer Sewing Machine could be purchase by using a monthly payment plan with a payment of just $1.00. This idea helped make Bourne one of the wealthiest men in America.

Bourne renamed the island 'Dark Island' because of the many dark evergreen trees located on its rocky shores. The island was also view by passing ships as being dark because of the steep granite cliffs that surround most of the island. Over 2000 loads of topsoil were brought from the Canadian shore to fill in the area among the rocks and form the islands eight acres. Bourne told his family that he was constructing a hunting lodge on the island and in 1903 construction began on the castle and surrounding outbuildings and lasted for 2 full years. The structures on the island are made from granite quarried at the Oak Island Stone Quarry located just across the main American Shipping Channel. The granite was transported by boat and moved over the ice in the winter.

The castle structure cost an estimated $500,000 and rose 5 stories high. There were a total of 28 rooms in the original castle. It has since been expanded to over 40 rooms. The castle has a series of hidden passageways that connected nearly ever room. There are also underground tunnels that connect the kitchen in the castle with the powerhouse and boathouse. The hidden passageways also were once the only way to get to Bourne's private study located in the upper floors of the castle. Just like any other castle Singer Castle contains turrets and dungeons. When construction was completed Bourne named the castle 'The Towers'.

The architect of the Dark Island buildings was Ernest Flagg. Flagg also designed the Singer Tower in Manhattan (View Notes Below) and Bourne's Long Island home 'Indian Neck Hall' which at one time was the largest estate on Long Island. Flagg also was the Architect for the Naval Academy at West Point.

When Bourne pass away in 1919 'The Towers' was willed to the La Salle Academy along with Bourne's estate on Long Island. When no suitably use could be found for the island it was sold to the Harold Martin Evangelistic Association in 1965, a christian evangelist whose resided there and used the island as a retreat and for Sunday Morning Worship Services in the music room. It was renamed Jordstadt Castle which is still a named preferred by many locals to the new Singer name. The name Jordstadt come from Dr. Herold Martin's original family name of Martin-Jordstadt.

In 2002 the island was again sold to a german investment group call American Castle Holdings, Ltd. They spent millions of dollars renovating the castle and preparing it for public tours. At the beginning of the 2004 Summer season the castle was opened to tourist similar to the larger Boldt Castle further upstream. In an attempt to bring more recognition to the venture, the castle was renamed Singer Castle. The castle is accessible only by water. You can use your personal boat (there is limited dockage) or one of the few tour companies that offer cruises to the island. The castle has a guided tour and a video viewing room. There is also a gift shop.

Dark Island also has been called Bluff Island and Round Island, and on some maps it is refered to as Jordstadt Island, although it was never actually officially called this.

Singer Tower Notes: Designed by Ernest Flagg. Construction started in 1906, completed 1908. At the time of completion in was the largest building in the world until the Met Life Town finished construction a year later. 47 floor. 186.6 meters. The building was destroyed in 1968 to make room for the new Deutsche Bank building. The Deutsche Bank was one of the buildings heavily damaged in the World Trade Center disaster.