Abercrombie Castle has lived on the market since 2017, with buyers turning a blind eye to its overgrown walls and unlivable rooms. Even so, realtor Christina DiMinno and her team worked hard to secure the right buyer for this historical property, which they achieved as of January 2025.
The castle was listed over a year ago for $2.9 million on 49.6 acres of land. The property has since been split into two plots, and the parcel housing the castle encompasses 22.75 acres. The decayed structure boasts four bedrooms and four full baths.
“The buyer plans to restore the property to its original glory. They are optimistic buyers who are so excited to start on this fabulous project. They know the pitfalls and hurdles they will have to overcome to get this accomplished,” says DiMinno. While the buyer has decided to remain private for now, the purchase is an exciting step in the castle’s history nevertheless. Only time will tell what the future holds.
A History of Abercrombie Castle
To learn about why this special structure has remained lifeless for many years, we must first dive into the story of David Abercrombie and what landed him and his castle here in Westchester County.
As the clothes indicate, in 1892 David Abercrombie established a high-end rugged wear and outdoor equipment emporium near Wall Street. He soon began outfitting intrepid explorers Robert Peary and President Theodore Roosevelt.
His partnership with well-heeled lawyer Ezra Fitch in 1904 dissolved soon after. Abercrombie insisted on selling to affluent clients while the newcomer sought mainstream appeal. In 1907, Abercrombie sold his interest to Fitch, who preserved the name.
Abercrombie stayed true to his vision and achieved success. He joined the Army during World War I, helping to outfit troops overseas. After the war, he quasi-retired and built his dream home: a 25-room medieval Scottish-style castle embellished with arched windows and a spiral iron staircase leading to the top of the turret, which offers city and river views.
Appropriately, the singular structure occupies a rocky outcropping at the crest of a ridge in the Town of New Castle for zoning and land use purposes. The Town of Ossining provides services.
Abercrombie completed the house in 1927, according to local historian Miguel Hernandez, and named it Elda, an acronym created by the first letters of his four children’s names.
Even by Westchester standards, the property stunned in its heyday. When the family moved in, the house sat within a 300-acre idyll laced with horse trails and including a spring-fed pool and a fishing pond.
The Property’s Different Owners
After Abercrombie died in 1937, his family sold to a company that conducted research on paint. It sat abandoned through the 1950s, when vandals ignited several fires, wrote Hernandez.
In 1964, James Harrick, founder of the local Harrick Scientific Company, bought it for $15,000 and lived there through the 1980s. Another couple paid $1.5 million in 2001, but their attempt to create a retreat and conference center failed, according to Hernandez.
In 2011, prior owners Morgan Immovable Property Corp. spent $3.75 million on the estate, which was on the market from 2017 to 2025.
After listing agent Christina DiMinno got in touch with Hernandez, “the family came out of the woodwork, from Idaho, Florida, all over,” she says, but the wealth never reached the next generation. “They’d love to restore it but they don’t have the money.”
Related: Ossining Day Trip: How to Spend 24 Hours in Town
Vandalism at the Castle
Prior to the purchase by its new owner in January 2025, a sign in Spanish and English hanging on an open gate in the back of the lot read: “This Property Is Under 24 Hour Video Surveillance.” Were that true, the footage would feature a long loop of destruction and debauchery.
Every window was broken, and the entire interior of the 4,337-square-foot space experienced extensive damage. Artist/vandals even created a huge graffiti mural on an outside wall.
While the property dwindled to almost 50 acres, the bones of the damaged house remain intact due to its steel skeleton clad with fieldstone and granite cultivated from the grounds.
With a new buyer confirmed, the Abercrombie castle property’s centerpiece, the decaying grand mansion, may very well have an exciting future ahead of it in Westchester County.
