Barnaby Castle

This extravagant mansion was designed in two phases (1875 and 1888) by renowned Providence architects Stone, Carpenter & Willson, but tradition states that the emphatic personality of its owner determined the eclectic mix of shapes and styles. After retail king Jerothmul B. Barnaby’s death in 1889, his widow Josephine fell under the spell of her physician Dr. Thomas Thatcher Graves. On a visit to Denver in 1891, she received a gift of poisoned whiskey by mail and quickly died. Graves’ trial was a national sensation. He was convicted of America’s first murder-by-mail and committed suicide in prison in 1893. The house today is undergoing a painstaking renovation to recapture its original splendor.