Ha Ha Tonka

This weekend we thought it would be fun to go and see the Ha Ha Tonka State Park. I had seen online that they had castle ruins there so we went to check it out. It turned out to be a beautiful day. We spent it hiking and exploring the ruins. Here's the story behind the ruins:
Robert M. Snyder, a wealthy businessman, first visited the site in 1903 and was so impressed that he eventually purchased more than 5,000 acres. He envisioned a private retreat with a European-style castle, with a center atrium rising three and one-half stories to a skylight. Snyder also planned an 80-foot-high water tower, greenhouses and a carriage house. Construction began in 1905 only to be halted a year later with the untimely death of Snyder in one of the state's first car accidents.

The Carriage house

Snyder's sons finished building their father's dream, though not quite as elaborately as originally planned. Eventually, the property was leased for use as a hotel, until tragedy struck in 1942.
The entire interior was gutted by fire when sparks from a chimney ignited the roof. The carriage house burned the same day and in 1976, the water tower was burned by vandals.

The Water Tower

This building supplied water to the entire castle and carriage house by the use of gravity. The workers at the castle lived in the bottom of this tower.