#williamhosborn

[railwayhistorical]

Osborn Castle

Above are images made of, and from, the Osborn Castle, in Garrison, New York (thirty-four years apart). Built in 1881, this intriguing structure overlooking the Hudson River Valley was the summer residence of William H. Osborn, President of the Illinois Central Railroad. The color view was made from the Desmond-Fish Library. Interestingly, one of the Fish family, Stuyvesant, was also President of the Illinois Central Railroad, after Osborn's tenure.

As for the second image, I was able to take a drive up to The Castle, as it was known to me, for some environmental event back in 1992. I was an active member of the local Audubon chapter and so privy to this gathering. In that rather soft black and white frame (in which I turned a negative into a positive slide), West Point can be seen in the distant upper left side of the frame. Storm King and Breakneck Ridge are looming on either side of the Hudson River behind that.

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken in 1992 and May 31st 2026.

[railwayhistorical]

Castle Rock Estate

This wonderful estate is near Garrison, New York; the area is known as the Hudson Highlands. I have two images here when I visited the main house in the early 1990s some some event or party.

When standing on the veranda of the main house (seen in image one), one can take in a fantastic view (image two) of the Hudson River with West Point as well as the gap between Storm King Mountain and Breakneck Ridge—sometimes called the “wind-gate”.

When I lived in the area, I had no idea this was built by a railroad tycoon, William H. Osborn, who held the position of president of the Illinois Central Railroad, along with other achievements.

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken in the early 1990s.