The Forgotten Castle Lamier

There once stood a massive stone castle in Florida. It was called the “House of Tragedy,” for a hundred years. It seems even the most astute historians have overlooked this location, once a fixture in Florida’s folklore.

Origins:

In 1803, a man known only as Marquis Lamier came to Florida. He was dark and dashing, it was said he fled a nasty reputation, and possibly many crimes, in France. Florida was then a wild country, owned by the Spanish. It would be another seventeen years before Florida became part of America. The Marquis decide to build his castle on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. He obtained a great deal of land and created a magnificent stone house with a matching stone gate. Twenty slave cabins, also of stone, were created around a quarter of a mile from the main house.

The only nearby settlement would eventually become known as Samville or Woodrow. It was perfect for his needs. He purchased a quantity of slaves and set about farming his plantation. Despite the fact that it was obvious he didn’t farm, he had an enormous amount of money. He shipped in fine wines and exquisite liquors from all over Europe. When he house was finished, he brought two visitors to the castle.

The girl was Antoinette Breezac, he claimed she was his ward. The second visitor was Mrs. Pierre, the Marquis claimed she was his housekeeper. The two were settling into their quarters and life went on as normal as possible.

Most information would be lost if not for the whisperings of his slaves. Strange men visited the castle often. Wild partiers were held every night and it seemed every visitor gambled with the Marquis. Card games were held often for days at a time. Poor Antoinette was subjected to ridicule and raucous comments from the Marquis’s guests. She didn’t speak English very well, so her communication with anyone was limited. The Marquis kept her in a corner of the room. The only decent time in her life was spent with a slave named Aunt Cleo. Antoinette was fifteen at the time, but she looked up to Aunt Cleo like a mother. Aunt Cleo had the same affection for the girl.

The two were inseparable when allowed. Aunt Cleo stood outside at night and remained where Antoinette could see her. The drunken men made fun of her and she could do nothing to anger the Marquis’s guests.

A Year Later

A year of the behavior passed. On the morning of Christmas Eve, Antoinette fled to Aunt Cleo’s cabin in her nightdress. She sobbed and gasped for breath. It took a few minutes for even Aunt Cleo to get her calm. She begged Aunt Cleo not to let the Marquis touch her. He’d told her he could do what he wanted with her because she was his ward. He told her that her father wouldn’t be coming for her because he’d killed him, himself. She said he would kill her, too, if she didn’t let him do as he wished.

It wasn’t long before both the Marquis and Mrs. Pierre came in search of her. They physically carried the girl back to the house. Aunt Cleo remained in her cabin, terrified of visiting the house. She knew they would take their anger out on the girl.

Her fears were confirmed at noon. Someone had sent for the local sheriff and coroner. Aunt Cleo felt sick as she approached the home. She ran up the steps to see the lonely body. Antoinette was doubled up on the third step from the top. Her head had almost been severed from her body. Her blood had poured down the steps and created a pool at the bottom.

She bit her tongue until the authorities arrived. She couldn’t keep silent. She accused the Marquis in front of the lawmen. She said he’d done it to her because she wouldn’t let him touch her. She didn’t see him do it, but she wanted the Marquis to pay for his misdeed. She told the police she’d watched him cut the girl’s throat.

The Marquis had her forcibly removed from the premises and escorted to her cabin. He said he would discuss the matter with her later. He offered the lawman a great deal of money for his trouble. He and Mrs. Pierre discussed poor Antoinette’s deteriorating mental state since learning of the death of her father. The large sum of cash, along with a few bottles of fine wine, encouraged the coroner rule her death a suicide.

They got rid of Antoinette, but their lives were not without trouble. Six months later, Mrs. Pierre was in the latter stages of delirium tremens. The slaves had endured enough of her cruelty, so they decided to end it while she was weak. They chased her down the upper floor and she died when her body fell down the steps.

Around the anniversary of Antoinette’s murder, the Marquis was playing cards with a new visitor. A man named Alphonse Letoure visited the castle. He suggested they play a game to see who would lose everything. The game stretched on for three days. By Christmas morning, Letoure was ruined. Instead of taking his losses, he believed the Marquis had cheated.

He made the accusation and the Marquis stood. Both men drew pistols and fired. Letoure died instantly, while the Marquis survived only a few minutes before expiring.

Smith’s Renovation

For decades, people didn’t know what to do with the house. Purchasers came and went as fast as it was sold. No one wanted to live there. It was a gorgeous home and in a prime location on the river, but no one could live there.

Eventually, Richard Martin Smith toured the house. He was impressed. He’d worked hard in the Alaskan gold fields and had amassed enough to retire. He wanted to go somewhere warm and comfortable and that place was Castle Lamier.

A number of locals tried to tell him about the home’s reputation, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He dismissed their claims as nonsense. The house was in fine condition structurally, all it really needed was some renovation.

He renovated the whole house and installed electricity. He brought in new furnishings and had the entire home redecorated. He moved his family in once the construction ended. The first day passed fine. He thought the locals were ignorant and he’d got a bargain. Then, came the first night.

The house was noisy, to say the least. All through the night, they heard the sounds of wine glasses clinking. They heard champagne bottles pop, as well as poker chips being tossed. Lights came and went through the halls as if a group of people lived in the home. They heard steps walking everywhere. The phantom party carried on, when the ominous sounds began.

Suddenly, steps rushed by their bedroom doors on the upper floor. A young woman screamed and pleaded for her life. A man swore and angrily shouted. After another scream, a body thudded down the main steps. The entire family heard liquid drip from the steps onto the floor. Whispers came from all directions. They heard drunken laugher and then fighting. They could hear the sounds of slaps and punches, as well as the sounds of someone being hit on the head.

Smith had second thoughts about his assumptions. The family emerged from their bedrooms after a restless night and, even in daylight, there was something on the third step from the top. At that point, the family didn’t know it was where Antoinette died. They quickly agreed it was not the house for them. Smith put the house on the market at a ridiculously low price and it was promptly picked up by a real estate man named Phillips.

Phillip’s Showmanship

Real estate mogul John Phillips was next in line. He bought the house for a steal. Despite being on the heels of Smith’s failure to live there, he was convinced he could turn a fortune from the old place. He went as far as writing several articles, published in Florida’s newspapers, about how superstition was ruining an otherwise excellent property.

He decided he would prove all the claims to be false. He invited twelve distinguished men of the state to live in the house for a week. He chose well-educated and successful men for the venture. Out of the group, one was a minister and one was a priest. To ensure he was confident the haunting was old wives’ tales, he brought his 4-year-old daughter, Mary, to stay with them.

They arrived before lunch. His first order of business was to debunk the story about the stairway. He knew nothing was on the steps and used his daughter to prove it. He said there was no way Mary could have understood the stories, let alone believe them. She was just a baby. He placed a dish of candy on a table at the top of the steps and instructed her to go get a piece.

The child slowly made her way towards the candy bowl. To Phillips’s dismay, the child stopped at the third step. She calculated her way around whatever was there. She eventually returned on her journey up the steps. The visitors were ready to leave. They already had a bad feeling about the visit and wanted out. Every man who attended begged Phillips to take his daughter from that house.

Phillips seemed surprised at their reluctance to stay. He said they must’ve just influenced his daughter in some way. She probably just heard them discussing the stairway. The men left. Phillips couldn’t be reasoned with and they couldn’t force him to leave his own house, even if his daughter’s life was at risk.

The next morning, Phillips screams were heard in Samville. He ran out of the house with his little girl in his arms. His hair had turned white. Physicians said her heart stopped due to shock. Phillips was a shell of his former self, and no one could ever get him to discuss that night at Castle Lamier. He let the property go, as Smith did, to anyone who would take it.

The End

Castle Lamier sat virtually empty for 50 years, outside of the owners who couldn’t stay more than a night. The death knell resounded for the place in 1906. Castle Lamier was to be demolished on January 1, 1907. The community near by decided to level the home and construct a resort atop its land.

History did not keep a documented account of the castle’s demolition. What happened to the property, or what was constructed there later, remains unknown.

Conclusion

In all likelihood, Marquis Lamier was not a real Marquis. The French peerages do not include Lamier or any similar name. As a matter of fact, “Lamier” when translated into English means “knife.” It can also mean nettle or bramble. Lamier was probably an associate of pirates, for Spanish Florida was rife with pirates who waited on the ships entering the Gulf of Mexico on the way to New Orleans. This is especially true of southwest Florida, right along the coast.

The house had national notoriety, but many in Florida knew nothing of it. Several written histories of the state from the late Nineteenth Century, discuss an old stone house that had been there for over 50 years. Many assumed it belonged to one of the colonists under Turnbull.

As to his great fortune, there are several cases of French treasures stolen during the atrocities of the Revolution. He might’ve also been a decadent noble who fled the frenzied mobs. The hint of his departure due to a bad reputation or crime would coincide with the Revolution. It would also suggest he was using an assumed name, in the New World.

The fact that Antoinette was a “Breezac,” is another intriguing aspect of the story. “Brissac,” is the correct spelling for a family of French nobles. They were associates of the King and defended the monarchy. Duke de Cossé-Brissac was one such casualty during the Massacre of September. After the mob killed the Duke, they severed his head and took it to his mistress.

It is unknown if Lamier purchased his property or received a grant of some kind. Florida land records prior to 1821 were all lost due to Spanish rule. The Spanish stored Florida’s land records in Cuba, for reasons lost to time. When America assumed ownership, the records were forever lost. Despite three separate government attempts, they would never be located. Their ultimate fate remains a mystery.