In February 2020, the landmark Berkeley Springs Castle, also known as the Suit Cottage, was sold to an alt-right fringe group called VDare. This web page was founded to provide information about VDare, its founder, its ideology, and its allies and associates.
The Berkeley Springs Castle, also known as the Samuel Taylor Suit Cottage, was built by Suit beginning in 1885, as a gift for his new wife. Over the next century, the castle became a beloved landmark of the West Virginia town, and hosted dinners, dances and weddings as it passed through the hands of successive owners. It was periodically opened to the public for tours, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Residents of Berkeley Springs were startled to find out in February 2020 that VDare, a small far-right foundation with an anti-immigrant website, had paid $1.4 million for the 9,300 sq-foot castle, the land around it, and three adjacent houses. The purchase included 53 acres in all, overlooking the town and its historic warm springs.
With little information about the group or its intentions, the Berkeley Springs community has struggled to understand the potential impact on its town. How did a non-profit with less than $200,000 in assets in 2017 buy a castle for $1.4 million? What does it intend to do with it? Who is VDare anyway? This website was founded to provide the public, elected officials and the media with the information needed to make up their own minds about their new neighbors.