Craigdarroch Castle (pronounced craigderek)

This is a very fine house that Victoria is very proud of. It was built by a coal magnate named Dunsmuir between 1887 and 1889. His coal mine was located up by Nanaimo where we landed from the ferry.

He had a lot of children. The females all were sent to Europe to marry impoverished royalty. Many of the children came to sad ends. One of his sons went down with the Lusitania. One of his daughters (or granddaughters) was the companion of Tahlula Bankhead. (I loved that.)

The woodwork was all made in Chicago and sent in 5 railroad cars. The woodwork alone cost $45,000 back then.

A private foundation is restoring the house and trying to retrieve the original furnishings.

This was a very modern bathroom at the time.

This is one of the must do things in Victoria, so we did it.