Key Largo Rock Castle

One of the historic homes is the European styled Largo Sound Rock Castle. It was a 1920s native coral rock home for New  Jersey dentist, Dr. George Engel. The walls are three feet thick at ground level and taper to 16 inches at the top. Upper Keys  county commissioner (1940-1942) T. Jenkins Curry had a small house nearby. Both survived the 1935 hurricane even though the downstairs portions were completely flooded. The mother of local attorney Jeff Gautier purchased the Largo Sound Castle in 1952. It had been vacant since the death of Dr. Engel in 1945 and was sometimes referred to as the "Haunted house on Largo Sound." She remodeled the house and removed the stone parapets along the roof line for safety reasons. A facsimile was later built in Dade County and "The Castle" remains one of the oldest structures in the Upper Keys still standing in its original location. Many tales have been spun about ghosts, etc. about the rock castle and it is located at the foot of Oceana Drive MM 103.5, oceanside.