THE CASTLES—
Mac-O-Chee and Mac-A-Cheek

A spirit of foreboding rattles your consciousness as you enter the cool humidor of the castles.

Massive, structural stonework gives way to the ornate, interior woodwork but all is not well. Visible clues are the crumbling masonry of the entry stairs and weeds peeking from their lofty perches in the rain troughs.

We were visiting these Piatt castles of Logan County once the epitome of life in the grandest tradition but, now, limping through their sunset years hoping for enough tourist and non-profit foundation revenue to maintain body and soul.

In 1828, Judge Benjamin and Elizabeth Piatt moved to Logan County from Cincinnati and established their home. In the mid 1800s their two sons each built one of the castles as their family homes.  The similar names come from the Shawnee Indian phrase meaning “Smiling Valley.”

Today’s visitor is rewarded with ample freedom to roam both castles in the self-guided manner with one’s curiosity only thwarted when areas were blocked; usually because of unsafe, structural conditions.

The marvelous woodwork, grandly painted ceilings and parquet floors, while in a state of visible decay, oozed evidence of life from a genteel past.

Yet, history reminds us these grand homes thrived in the time when the state’s last Indians were being displaced from their lands in this then new state called Ohio while, at the same time, slaves sought refuge in Mac-A-Cheek as part of the Underground Railroad leading to their freedom.

In the small photo (right) the silhouette of the figure behind Sue often displayed a flag placed in its hand by the homeowner to tell fleeing slaves when it was safe to seek shelter for the night. And, when it was not.

Plaques abound in today’s castles; some telling tourists of the state’s governors being regular visitors in that century long past. We read the castles once housed the then largest library in Ohio.

During your tour you will learn how five generations of the Piatt family lived in an American castle and adapted their homes to the changing times.

Still, as you tour the castles, room-by-room, your senses often will be jarred by evidence of disintegrating plaster and paint peeling from the walls.

You will learn Margaret Piatt, the current owner of the castles, lives in a modest, frame home adjacent to Mac-O-Chee where, we noted, a Volkswagen Beetle sitting in the driveway, suggesting current means of family transportation are somewhat less grand than those enjoyed by her ancestors.

Her great, great grandfather Abraham built Mac-A-Cheek.

Today, a non-profit foundation is engaged in restoration of the castles; hopefully to their original splendor.

They face an estimated need of 10 million dollars for full restoration according to one host. With paid visits ranging from 500 to 1,000 tourists monthly—at about $15 a head—their prospects appear bleak.

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http://www.piattcastles.org/