Mac-O-Chee is becoming too much to take care of, said Jim White, vice president of Piatt Castles.
White is the husband of Margaret Piatt, who is the sixth generation of her family to take care of the castles.
The roof has a complicated roof-line that has created many problems for the couple during restoration.
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“Our resources are just from our tours and we just don’t have the money that this building needs,” said White. “We care more about preserving the building than owning it.”
When Mac-O-Chee is auctioned off, many of the artifacts will be moved to Mac-A-Cheek, the remaining Piatt Castle.
The sale of Mac-O-Chee will allow White and Piatt to restore additional areas in the remaining castle. Some rooms in the castle will be opened to the public for the first time.
“We already get a lot of questions about different aspects that will be very much cleared up when we have a chance to expand, open up more areas of the castle,” said Logan Boggs, a tour guide at Piatt Castles.
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The Piatt family said if the Mac-A-Cheek castle had a theme it would be how a family’s history changes.
Five generations of Piatts have lived in the castle and have preserved the history of the 19th century.
“It’s been painful for us because it’s such an amazing building,” White said, “(Mac-O-Chee) has added so much to our tour.”
Both castles will be open weekends from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning Sept. 7. The last day to tour Mac-O-Chee is Oct. 6.
Two special events will take place the weekend of Oct. 26-27, an oral history project called, “Memories of Mac-O-Chee” and the annual Halloween program, “Ghosts and Goblins: Literature to Scare and Delight.”
Mac-A-Cheek Castle will remain open on weekends through Oct. 27 and will reopen mid-April 2020. Visit www.piattcastles.org for event details and schedule updates.
Details about the auction can be found at www.piattcastles.org/auction.
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