Eliot Gavin Introduction to Topic

     Hi, my name is Eliot Gavin and I am a 3rd Year Museum Studies major with a minor in Human Resources Management. I am from Conesus, NY, and am passionate about accessibility, inclusion and community development in museums. I have been involved with my local history society (Livingston County Historical Society) for about five years and wanted to focus my undergraduate thesis on local history, specifically on The Castle on the Hill.

    

The Explorographer, Castle on the Hill, 2012, https://www.theexplorographer.com/2012/02/our-castle-on-the-hill/

    The Castle on the Hill has a long history that I will briefly go over, but you can read more about the history here. The Castle on the Hill is located in Dansville, NY (about 40 minutes from RIT) and first opened in 1854. The Castle on the Hill has operated as a water cure facility, a World War I psychiatric hospital, and most recently a health and wellness spa. Most Livingston County residents call the building The Castle on the Hill due to its location overlooking the Genesee Valley. 

    The era I want to focus on is from 1929 to 1971 when the building operated as "The Physical Culture Hotel" under the leadership of famous publisher and businessman, Bernarr Macfadden. The Physical Culture Hotel was a health and wellness resort that attracted many tourists to Dansville as well as employed many Dansville residents. In my role as a docent at the Livingston County Historical Society, I have heard many tales of locals meeting celebrities or having treasured family moments at the hotel. After MacFadden's death, the hotel closed and was bought by a private owner in the 1990s. 

    This has not stopped people from visiting the Castle. The Castle is a popular urban exploration destination in the Greater Rochester Area and unfortunately has undergone a lot of vandalism and deterioration due to neglect. Recently in 2023, there was a report of fire inside the Castle. Much of the original building was burned down. 

    In the past 20 years, there have been many futile attempts to "save" the Castle including trying to turn it into a medical office building. All these attempts have failed probably due to the dilapidated structure. I want to see how oral history can be a sufficient alternative to historical building preservation in the case of The Castle on the Hill. Right now, oral history seems like a cheaper and more practical way to capture the collective memory of the Castle on the Hill. 

    I will get into more detail about my plan for this project in my next post, but for right now I am looking at capturing 3 oral histories from people who have a personal connection to the Castle and host them on a blog. 

    Please reach out to me via email at ejg9342@rit.edu if you have any questions or concerns! I am so excited to start this project!