Bannerman, Francis, VI, 1851-1918

Francis (Frank) Bannerman VI was born in Dundee, Scotland on March 24, 1851. At the age of three he and his family moved to the United States, where they settled in Brooklyn. Soon after, Bannerman's father began a business of re-selling items purchased at Naval auctions. When his father joined the Union Army during the Civil War, Francis carried on and gradually grew the business by collecting large quantities of scrap. Once the Civil War ended, Bannerman officially founded his own company, Francis Bannerman Co., at the age of 14. It was during a business trip to Ireland a few years later, in 1872, that Bannerman met and married his wife, Helen Boyce.

In 1900 Bannerman purchased Polopel Island, a small island located in the Hudson River just north of West Point, NY, with the aim to turn it into a safe storage location for his large store of military surplus that had now outgrown his warehouse space in Brooklyn. Patriotic to his heritage, Bannerman designed plans to have a unique, Scottish-style estate constructed on the island to serve both his business and personal needs. Construction began in 1900 and continued steadily through the time of Bannerman's death in 1918. Buildings constructed included an arsenal, a superintendent's house, a workshop, a powder house, an ice house, breakwaters, turrets and a grand personal residence and gardens for the Bannermans. Proud of his island home, Francis attempted to officially rename the island "Bannerman Island," but never gained consent to do so. During their time living on the island, a number of unfortunate incidents befell the Bannermans, including a large explosion at the powder house in 1920 that caused minor injuries and a fair amount of damage, and frequent lightning strikes due to the castle's numerous flag poles.

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