Standing three stories tall, with an attached three-story turret and crenellated roof line and battlements, presumably for archers), the structure is the very definition of a castle, albeit one covered in gray stucco.
The most interesting part of the Castle’s story, however, might be that it was originally intended to be something entirely different. It was built to serve as a home for Washington’s governors.
The unusual structure was the brainchild of Ellensburg businessman, Brittain A. Craig and his brother, Samuel E. Craig. Brittain was co-owner of the Capital Hill Water Works, the city’s main water utility, while Samuel was a master stone mason.
By the late 1880s, efforts to establish statehood for the Washington Territory, which had been created way back in 1853, had begun to gain momentum. On February 22, 1889, outgoing President Grover Cleveland signed legislation to begin the process of creating a new state of Washington.
In addition to drafting and approving a new state constitution, Washington statehood delegates also needed to determine where to locate the new state capitol. Olympia had been the territorial capital city, but there was considerable debate about whether the seat of government should remain there or be moved to one of several other cities vying for the privilege.
Among the communities in the mix was Ellensburg, which boasted a population of more than 2,500 and was geographically located in the central part of the state. In anticipation of that possibility, property values in Ellensburg began to spike and the Craig brothers decided to build what was essentially a “spec” mansion for the future state chief executive on the southwest corner of Chestnut Street and Third Avenue.
According to records, in early 1889 work began on the brick house, which measured 36-by-32-feet and boasted not only three stories but a basement as well as two bay windows.
In April of that year, Northwest Magazine noted that, “Mr. [Brittain] Craig is putting up the finest brick residence in Ellensburg on Capitol Hill [now known as Craig’s Hill] in plain view of the city, and when somebody asked him the other day if that was the Governor’s mansion, he said it was.”
The magazine, which was a promotional publication of the Northern Pacific Railway, noted that Craig also owned a large brickyard on Capitol Hill that was manufacturing 40,000 bricks daily.
It also said Craig was constructing a brick block of buildings on Pine Street between Third and Fourth streets, and, working with his brother, Samuel, “are to erect this summer, on Third Street, six brick dwelling houses on Capitol Hill at its eastern end overlooking the city and valley.”
A photo of the completed house from the early 20th century shows an elegant Victorian structure that boasted an impressive corner tower with an octagonal-shaped cupola with windows that offered what must have been spectacular views of the surrounding area.
Additionally, a land development firm called Walters and Company pledged 40 acres at the north edge of town as a potential site for a state house and public grounds, and invested in a planned streetcar line that would link the Northern Pacific Depot (at the west end of Third Avenue) with the proposed state capitol site and the city’s residential neighborhoods (it was never built).
Despite the local enthusiasm, the effort to locate the seat of state government in Ellensburg came to a sudden halt on the evening of July 4, 1889. While delegates from Ellensburg, including the mayor, were attending the Constitutional Convention in Olympia to advocate for the city, a disastrous fire broke out in a downtown grocery store and quickly spread.
Stoked by high winds, the fire tore through the community, burning some 200 homes and 10 blocks of the city’s business district. By the following morning, the city was in ruins with only the Ellensburg National Bank and the City Hotel still standing.
The fire essentially ended Ellensburg’s quest for the capital. A statewide ballot between the three finalists for the capital that was held in November 1889 resulted in 37,413 votes for Olympia, 7,222 votes for Ellensburg, which was still rebuilding, and 6,276 votes for North Yakima.
Following the unsuccessful capital campaign, the Craig brothers, along with several siblings, apparently moved into the mansion. According to a March 3, 1914 Ellensburg Daily Record story, Brittain Craig suffered serious financial losses during the Great Panic of 1893 and was forced to sell the house a year later.
The property changed hands a number of times during the next 35 years and fell into serious disrepair. By 1930, when it was purchased from the Hoyt family by Ralph and Jesse Wiseman, it had stood vacant and neglected for several years.
In an October 31, 1930 article in the Ellensburg Daily Record, the Wisemans’ said they intended to remodel the building and convert it into a modern apartment building.
“According to reports, Mr. and Mrs. Wiseman will continue with the castle effect, though tearing down the main steeple,” the paper said. “An apartment on each of the three floors will be constructed and the basement will be furnished as a community lounge room for the tenants. A spiral stairway will lead from the basement to the top floor. The finished building will be of stucco finishing.”
And with that, the Victorian mansion was transformed into a faux, medieval-style castle. In the years since, the unusual building has housed several generations of Central Washington University students and others needing affordable living quarters. But, as far as anyone knowns, no princes or princesses.
