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GreatStone Castle - 1895
Perhaps no other residence in west central
Ohio captures the glamour and opulence of the 1890s more than this home. Whitby Place was
conceived and designed by W.H.C. Goode, one of
the wealthiest men in Shelby County, Ohio, and the owner of the American Steel Scraper Company. Along with its two
acres, it is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Mr. Goode named this house after Whitby, England, the Yorkshire
ancestral home of the Goode family. The area is known for its rugged beauty and the
beautiful mansions throughout the countryside. During a visit to the area, Goode saw an
English chateau and decided to base the design of his Sidney home after it. Construction
of the mansion began in 1892 and was completed in 1895 at a cost of $35,000. It is made of
18 inch thick Bedford, Indiana, limestone. It is approximately 17,000 square feet, with 30
rooms featuring hardwoods imported from throughout the world. The ten fireplaces are made
out of American marble.
W.H.C. personally oversaw every detail of the construction, from its
original design concept down to the types of hardware used on the doors. When he chose the
land, he paid $25 for the house that was on the property and had it relocated across the
street.
Whitby survived major fires in 1899 and 1941. The Goode family lived at
Whitby for almost 80 years. The Way International assumed responsibility for 16 years from
1974 until 1990, when Ray and Alma Willis purchased the facility. They renamed it the
Greatstone Castle. They lived there for 4 years until Frederick and Victoria Keller
purchased the building in 1994. They operate it as an events center/bed and breakfast.
'Downtown'
segment written in October, 1998 by Sherrie
Casad-Lodge
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