East Haddam, Conn. ? Deep in the green rolling hills of central Connecticut, perched hundreds of feet above the wide banks of a river, is one of New England’s more, well, intriguing man-made treasures Gillette Castle.

Here on a hill called Seventh Sister said to be the highest point in the lower Connecticut River valley William Hooker Gillette decided to build his version of a medieval fortress, complete with battlements.

The newly renovated Gillette Castle is in East Haddam, Conn. William Hooker Gillette, who was famous for portraying Sherlock Holmes for 34 years in theaters around the world, spent more than million building his version of a medieval fortress from 1914 to 1919.

Gillette, who was famous for portraying Sherlock Holmes for 34 years in theaters around the world, spent more than $1 million building his castle from 1914 to 1919.

The 24-room, 14,000-square-foot home, which is now the focal point of the 184-acre Gillette Castle State Park, reflects Gillette’s elegance, drama and eccentricity.

The state, which bought the building from his estate in 1943 for $30,000, is finishing up a three-year, $11.5 million renovation. A 3,800-square-foot visitor center and its deck will offer a majestic view of the Connecticut River valley.

“We want it to look like we were never there. Like it looked in 1919,” says Patrick T. Nolan, of the state Department of Public Works. “We’re giving a whole new life to a building which was falling down.”

From hand-carved bannisters to stained and faded Raffia wall coverings, details have either been restored or replaced with new craftsmanship.

“A lot of the things that were repaired were just things that were made threadbare by people touching them,” says Jim Sabith, the project superintendent.

Hand-carved wood paneling lines the interior rooms and halls. Each piece of door and window hardware is unique and hand-carved out of wood. Gillette could see who was entering and who was bellying up to the bar by glancing into mirrors over the French doors in the living room.

People familiar with Gillette and the history of the ornate castle say it allowed the actor to know exactly when to make his “grand entrance.”

	The Gillette Castle opened Memorial Day and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Columbus Day. The park’s grounds are open from 8 a.m. to sunset. From Columbus Day to the last weekend before Christmas, the castle is open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Admission for adults is $4; children age 6-11, $2; 5-and-under, free. Free entrance for all to the picnic areas, a pond and hiking trails that snake through the state park.For more information, the Gillette Castle and State Park can be reached at (860) 526-2336, or go to www.tourism.state.ct.us.

On his 100-plus acres, Gillette, a train buff, fashioned the three-mile miniature railway he called the “Seventh Sister Shortline.” Passengers included friends Albert Einstein, Helen Hayes and Charlie Chaplin, who had a role in the play that made Gillette famous.

The custom-made cars and most of the tracks were acquired years ago by the Lake Compounce amusement park, but are being restored and returned to their original home.

In his will, the great portrayer of Sherlock Holmes asked the executors of his estate to exercise discrimination in disposing of the property so that everything he loved about it “would not fall into possession of some blithering saphead who had no conception of where he is or with what surrounded.”

The roads to the castle are cut into hills lined with centuries-old stone walls, through lands dotted with country stores, New England barns and antique shops. On the way, travelers may want to visit The Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam or the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat.

The schoolhouse where patriot Nathan Hale taught is in East Haddam. It’s next door to St. Stephen’s Church, which has a Spanish bell cast in 815 A.D. At the First Church Cemetery is the grave of Venture Smith a slave who worked to earn his own freedom.

The Chester-Hadlyme Ferry, which can be seen from the castle’s fieldstone porch, is the second-oldest ferry operating in the United States. It began service in 1769.

Replicas of the deerstalker caps and meerschaum pipe Gillette made famous are bound to be sold in the gift shop of the new visitors center. The state plans to open the center by Labor Day.