I received E-Mail that said:
Are you familiar with the Laura Ingles Wilder castle on the west end of Radford? Take the #104 exit off I-81. Less than a block past the change to a 35mph speed zone, take a left onto a residential street (sorry, I can't remember the name, but it's right before you pass a gas station on the right. I'll try to get a street name and update you). At the end of the street on the left stands the castle. It's not big by any standards, but it's an absolutely beautiful piece of architecture. So much so it starkly stands out amongst the lower-middle class houses that stand in the neighborhoods around it. And surprise, surprise, the property is riverfront on the New River (seems like so many castles are that way). A lot of the locals either don't know about it or refuse to acknowledge it (standard haunted house stories, you know the drill).
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
Some more info about the house in Radford, there is a woman who died there by a lightening bolt and her image is supposedly in a mirror,so I guess it's supposedly haunted. The original owner of the home was Mary Ingalls Draper,not Wilder.It is on Ingalls Rd the house on the left. I'm gonna find out who owns it currently and see if they will let me see inside it.
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
Click here: Mary Ingles this is about the woman who owned radford castle I thought you might like this ,every summer we have a play performed here called The Long Way Home and it depicts what happened
Later. I received E-Mail that said:
I just wanted to e-mail you and let you know a few more details about the Mary Draper Ingalls castle in Radford. I am a Radford native and I have visited the castle a while back when I was in college. The mans name that owns it now is Paul Steele. He and his wife live there. They are decendents of the Ingalls family. The story is somewhat true about the lady that is trapped in the mirror. The name of the road you take to get there is Fuqua Street.
Does this castle have a name? Is it called Radford Castle, Wilder Castle, or something else?
On 6-27-07, I received E-Mail that said:
This home is called the Ingal's Tower and known in the town as simply The Castle. This property is owned by a distant relative of Mary Ingals and has been cleaned off so viewing is much better. Normally, the owner is there during the week for now while the home is being restored. As far as the mirror image, it is true that a woman and her cat's image was burnt into the glass from a lightning strike close to the window, but this did NOT kill anyone. There are rumors however, that she and her cat do linger within the home. I have been in the home recently and wish you luck on getting a tour. It was an experience.
On 2-24-08, I received E-Mail that said:
I'm originally from Radford & used to live right next door to the castle. My daughter sent me this link & while doing further research on "Ingles Castle", found your website & thought you might be interested in this link.
http://www.newrivervalleynews.com/content/view/12866/1/
On 3-8-11, I received e-mail that said:
A friend of mine told me about seeing a castle near Richmond, Va. I was trying to find
out more about it and discovered your U.S. Castles website. While reading about Virginia
castles, I was struck by the story of what is identified at your site as the Ingal's
Tower or La Riviere Castle. That's obviously not the one my friend is talking about, but
I was struck by the story about the woman and cat whose images were burned into the
mirror by lightning and did a bit of Googling. The story on your site is kind of
sketchy, so I thought you might like this link, which is to a 2008 Roanoke newspaper
story that gives lots more details about the castle and the lightning incident, which
is absolutely true. I wish the photo of the mirror was better, though.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/159488
Back to "Castles of the United States"
A special thanks to Christy Hodge for taking and sending the photo.