The Legend of the Captain's Castle

Built in 1883 over a Retreat bunk tent, the original owner of the Captain's Castle was far from being a sea captain. Everett Pomeroy was, in fact, a college professor and church organist. That changed in the early 1900's when Pacific Grove resident, Margaret Tennant, sold the Castle to Captain Kinswood when he moved to town for a quieter life. Once a sea captain, always a sea captain and Kinswood was unable to just sit back and enjoy the views of Monterey Bay. Day or night, Kinswood could be seen in the tower scanning the horizon for the tall ships; vessels that would quietly sail into the harbor, dispatch their cargo, and often never be seen again. Other times the ships would stop in the cove right in front of the castle where sailors would load dinghies with wooden chests and row their way to shore where Kinswood would greet them with a hearty slap on the back and a pint of rum grog. 

Some say the Captain had a dark side and the cargo he received was illegal contraband. With Pacific Grove being a dry town, speculation
was that much of the contraband was gin and whiskey, bound for local establishments with thirsty, yet discreet, customers. Lucky for the
Captain the crawl space underneath the castle was just high enough for barrels and chests of liquor to be stored until the clandestine deliveries.
Up until the mid 1920's, the Captain could be seen on fog shrouded evenings walking the town and out to Point Pinos Lighthouse. Not
many people knew him so when he mysteriously disappeared the news barely cast a ripple throughout Pacific Grove social circles and the
castle was sold in 1926. Still today, some call it the Kinswood Tower but most refer to it as The Captain's Castle.