For sale: Crumbling castle with commanding views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the threat of a wrecking ball in its near future. Kimball Castle in Gilford, New Hampshire, U.S. - built by a wealthy railroad baron - is a shell of its former self and now up for sale for $799,000. Once stunning in its grandeur and featured on postcards, the castle has long been neglected and is deemed by town officials to be 'an unattractive nuisance' and an 'extreme hazard'. Scroll down for video . Under threat: Kimball Castle, built in the late 1890s for Benjamin Ames Kimball, who was president of the Boston-Montreal Railroad, is under the threat of a wrecking ball in its near future . The dilapidated manor has fallen into such a state that it even featured on an episode of U.S. 'Ghost Hunters' a few years ago. The Gilford Board of Selectmen earlier this year approved demolition by its owner - Kimball Castle Properties LLC. The property is bound by a number of restrictive covenants that make prospects of finding a buyer bleak. Town Administrator Scott Dunn said the only thing a buyer could do with it is construct a 40-room inn and 75-seat restaurant - based on conditions attached to another prospective development plan from 1996. That plan failed to attract enough financial backing to go forward. 'Anything else would take agreement by the Attorney General, the selectmen and the court,' Dunn said. Backdrop: Commanding stunning views of Lake Winnipesaukee, the 19th century castle has been left to rot and ruin and has lost most of its windows and frames . The medieval-styled castle was built . in the late 1890s by Benjamin Ames Kimball, who was president of the . Boston, Montreal and Concord railways and had also served as president . of several Concord banks. He designed the two-story granite edifice . after castles he'd seen on Germany's Rhine River. Much . of the stone was quarried from Locke's Hill, atop which the castle sits . on 20 acres. Until his death in 1920 at age 86, Kimball liked to sit on . his stone deck gazing down upon the wide section of Lake Winnipesaukee . known as 'the broads'. No . Kimball has lived in the castle since Benjamin Kimball's daughter-in-law . died in 1960. She left the estate and about $400,000 to a charitable . foundation, with the stipulation it create a nature preserve on the site . and that the property not be used for commercial development. Halcyon days: Until his death in 1920 at age 86, Kimball liked to sit on his stone deck gazing down upon the wide section of Lake Winnipesaukee known as 'the broads' The preserve was never created, the money vanished and, in 1981, New Hampshire's Attorney General took control of the land and offered it to the town of Gilford to create the preserve and save the castle. By then, scarred and stripped of much . of its woodwork by vandals, the castle was already badly deteriorated. Trespassers had left doors and windows open. The atrium skylight was . destroyed and water had been pouring into the structure for years. In . 1980, then-town administrator Steve McCabe predicted, "It's going to be . the wrecking ball for the castle" unless someone steps in to save it. No one did. Gilford . residents did not want to spend the money to reverse the castle's . decay. Town administrators convinced the Attorney General's office that . the only way to save the castle was to permit commercial development. The principle investors in the 1996 project — David and Mary Jodoin — . are the sole partners in the Kimball Castle Properties LLC. The property was listed for sale in 2010 for the dearer price of $995,000 but it seems the owners will now accept a lower offer since it is scheduled to be demolished . They not only received approval to raze the castle, but were ordered to by the town's building inspector, David Andrade. The deadline was May 15, but the Jodoins have been granted two extensions — and now have until Oct. 15 — to demolish the castle and several buildings. 'Although it is very painful for me to impose this order on you as the castle holds historic and sentimental value to the community,' Andrade wrote, 'due to the extreme hazards it presents, I find it necessary to protect the safety of all.' The Board of Selectmen is holding a public hearing Wednesday on changes in the deed proposed by the owners, including ending the public's right to access the property.
Kimball Castle, overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, has been derelict for decades .
It was built by a wealthy railroads businessman in the late 19th century .
Castle was left to hands of a trust but building was left to rot and ruin .
Now conditions upon its use mean it can only be saved if it's transformed into a large hotel and restaurant .
For sale: Crumbling castle with commanding views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the threat of a wrecking ball in its near future. Kimball Castle in Gilford, New Hampshire, U.S. - built by a wealthy railroad baron - is a shell of its former self and now up for sale for $799,000. Once stunning in its grandeur and featured on postcards, the castle has long been neglected and is deemed by town officials to be 'an unattractive nuisance' and an 'extreme hazard'. Scroll down for video . Under threat: Kimball Castle, built in the late 1890s for Benjamin Ames Kimball, who was president of the Boston-Montreal Railroad, is under the threat of a wrecking ball in its near future . The dilapidated manor has fallen into such a state that it even featured on an episode of U.S. 'Ghost Hunters' a few years ago. The Gilford Board of Selectmen earlier this year approved demolition by its owner - Kimball Castle Properties LLC. The property is bound by a number of restrictive covenants that make prospects of finding a buyer bleak. Town Administrator Scott Dunn said the only thing a buyer could do with it is construct a 40-room inn and 75-seat restaurant - based on conditions attached to another prospective development plan from 1996. That plan failed to attract enough financial backing to go forward. 'Anything else would take agreement by the Attorney General, the selectmen and the court,' Dunn said. Backdrop: Commanding stunning views of Lake Winnipesaukee, the 19th century castle has been left to rot and ruin and has lost most of its windows and frames . The medieval-styled castle was built . in the late 1890s by Benjamin Ames Kimball, who was president of the . Boston, Montreal and Concord railways and had also served as president . of several Concord banks. He designed the two-story granite edifice . after castles he'd seen on Germany's Rhine River. Much . of the stone was quarried from Locke's Hill, atop which the castle sits . on 20 acres. Until his death in 1920 at age 86, Kimball liked to sit on . his stone deck gazing down upon the wide section of Lake Winnipesaukee . known as 'the broads'. No . Kimball has lived in the castle since Benjamin Kimball's daughter-in-law . died in 1960. She left the estate and about $400,000 to a charitable . foundation, with the stipulation it create a nature preserve on the site . and that the property not be used for commercial development. Halcyon days: Until his death in 1920 at age 86, Kimball liked to sit on his stone deck gazing down upon the wide section of Lake Winnipesaukee known as 'the broads' The preserve was never created, the money vanished and, in 1981, New Hampshire's Attorney General took control of the land and offered it to the town of Gilford to create the preserve and save the castle. By then, scarred and stripped of much . of its woodwork by vandals, the castle was already badly deteriorated. Trespassers had left doors and windows open. The atrium skylight was . destroyed and water had been pouring into the structure for years. In . 1980, then-town administrator Steve McCabe predicted, "It's going to be . the wrecking ball for the castle" unless someone steps in to save it. No one did. Gilford . residents did not want to spend the money to reverse the castle's . decay. Town administrators convinced the Attorney General's office that . the only way to save the castle was to permit commercial development. The principle investors in the 1996 project — David and Mary Jodoin — . are the sole partners in the Kimball Castle Properties LLC. The property was listed for sale in 2010 for the dearer price of $995,000 but it seems the owners will now accept a lower offer since it is scheduled to be demolished . They not only received approval to raze the castle, but were ordered to by the town's building inspector, David Andrade. The deadline was May 15, but the Jodoins have been granted two extensions — and now have until Oct. 15 — to demolish the castle and several buildings. 'Although it is very painful for me to impose this order on you as the castle holds historic and sentimental value to the community,' Andrade wrote, 'due to the extreme hazards it presents, I find it necessary to protect the safety of all.' The Board of Selectmen is holding a public hearing Wednesday on changes in the deed proposed by the owners, including ending the public's right to access the property.
of Lake Winnipesaukee and the threat of a wrecking ball in its near future. Kimball Castle in Gilford, New Hampshire, U.S. - built by a Castle, built in the late 1890s for Benjamin Ames and 75-seat restaurant - based on conditions the 19th century castle has been left to rot and . The medieval-styled castle was built . in the