Otto Hillig (1874–1954) lived most of his life in Liberty, New York, and gained fame as a photographer and transatlantic flier. He also had a German-style castle constructed for him near Parksville, New York, and served one term in the New York State Assembly.Goodman, William M. Otto Hillig: Photographer, Aviator, and Castle-Builder. New York Almanack (Nov. 14, 2024). URL: https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2024/11/otto-hillig-photographer-aviator/#more-114793
Early years
Hillig arrived in America by ship, at the age of 17, in 1891. From a farming family in Germany, he listed his calling as "farmer" in his arrival documents.Ellis Island Arrival records, available through http://www.statueofliberty.org.
Although he arrived unaccompanied, Hillig had a step-brother who was already in the country: Ernest Schubert, son of Hillig's mother's second husband. Schubert was a couple of years older than Hillig and he arrived in the U.S. a year before him.1900 Federal Census entry for Ernest 'Shubert', then residing in Massachusetts, indicates his age and immigration date. (Corroborated with records showing correct name spelling.) According to Schubert, he helped Hillig out, financially, a couple of times. First, he helped to finance Otto's voyage to America; then, some years later, he helped Hillig set up his own photography studio.The Boston Globe. Jun 25, 1931. Page 10. (The article mistakenly calls Schubert a half-brother rather than a step-brother.)
Early on, Hillig obtained a cheap camera, which he enjoyed using. Supporting himself by various jobs, he eventually made his way to a tourist region, the Catskills in New York State, where tourists would pay for him to take their pictures. Within a few years, he became prosperous by his photography. Besides his portraiture, he produced popular sets of picture postcards and tourist booklets, whose quality remains highly regarded.Jarnich, Matthew. Web page "Otto Hillig—New Photographs", in the blog Matthew Jarnich Photography. URL: https://www.americancatskills.com/blog/2020/11/otto-hillig-new-photographs (Accessed Oct. 18, 2024.) His "up-to-date" studio in Liberty, New York, was established and regularly advertised by 1898.The Liberty Register. (Display ad.) Nov. 25, 1898. Page 3.
Around that same time, Hillig saved to study formally at the Illinois College of Photography in Effingham, Illinois. He entered a first term in residence in 1900,The Effingham Democrat (Effingham, Illinois). Feb 23, 1900, Page 7. and returned there for some additional course work in 1904.The (Liberty) Register. Apr. 8, 1904, Page 1. He was always eager to learn, and try new techniques in his field by, for example, experimenting with aerial photographyJarnich, Matthew. Op Cit. and taking moving pictures.Ellenville Journal. Notes from near and far. May 1, 1919.
At Effingham College he met a fellow student, June H. Carr, who eventually became a respected photographer, in his own right. Carr briefly became a partner in Hillig's business in Liberty in 1900, before leaving to get married and establish his own business.1900 U.S. Federal Census. Carr appears as a photographer and "partner", in the same household as Hillig, in Liberty.
Hillig also added to his wealth, at times, by diversifying his business activities. This included, some real estate investmentsThe Liberty Register. Apr. 20, 1923. Page 5. and taking orders in his studio for musical supplies and instruments.The Liberty Register. (Display ad.) Aug. 14, 1924. Page 8.
Travel Once he could afford it, he began to buy—and run through—'motorcars', owning one of the first such vehicles in Sullivan County. His experiments with their speed and maneuverability contributed to his various run-ins with a truck, one or more telephone poles, and a horse-drawn carriage.One such incident is reported in Ellenville Journal, Sept. 26, 1907, page 2. He once earned the nickname "The Flying Dutchman", years before any involvement with airplanes: It happened when he totalled a car in a burst of flames, after rendering it airborne, and he survived in one piece.Middletown Times Herald. The Flying Dutchman. Jun 2, 1931, page 4.
In 1916, Hillig toured North America by car, driving 9500 miles with a friend. He also acquired a taste for publicity, submitting humorous updates of his tour progress to local newspapers.Maurer, C. F. William. Otto Hillig: Freemason and Hero of Liberty New York. Philalethes: The Journal of Masonic Research and Letters. Vol. 71, No. 2 (2017), page 62. When he returned, he entertained audiences with humorous talks about his exploits, and lobbied for Liberty to install modern, electrical street lighting, as adopted in other cities.The Liberty Register. Liberty Deserves Street Lamps, Posts, and Park, says Hillig. Feb 2, 1917 (Vol. 47, No. 21), p. 1.
In 1929, Hillig paid $9,000 for a seat on the flight of the Graf ZeppelinFor a description of that flight, see URL: https://time.com/archive/6743284/aeronautics-zeppelin-around-the-world/. around the globe, and drew the public's interest for his signing up.Red Hook Advertiser. Four Americans Booked for Flight Around the World. Aug. 8, 1929. Page 6. That venture fell through because, by most accounts, the flight organizers double-sold Hillig's seat. But Hillig sued for damages. Settling out of court, he received $25,000,Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York). Settles Claim Against Zeppelin for $25,000. Apr 20, 1930. Page 1. plus a refund for his ticket cost.
Those funds enabled Hillig to buy his own, new plane in 1931. With his plane, he planned a transatlantic flight to Denmark (the homeland of his intended pilot, Holger Hoiriis), and then on to Germany.The Post-Star (Glens Falls, New York). Jan 29, 1931. Page 1. He named his plane "Liberty", as part of "repaying Liberty for its part in his good fortune."Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York). Plane, Parade, Christening to Be on Program. May 23, 1931, Page 5. A local editor lauded this project for bringing great publicity to his adopted city.The Liberty Register. Jan. 15, 1931. Page 4.
Hillig claimed he was making that expensive and risky flight "just for the fun of it"The Ithaca Journal. 'Fun' Fliers Complete Hop on Sea Cruise. Jun. 20, 1931, Page 1. or "for the thrill".The Buffalo News. Copenhagen-Bound Fliers Are on Way. Jun. 20, 1931, Page 16. He was not driven, like other fliers of the era, to be 'the first' to fly the furthest. For example, on June 24, 1931, Hillig and his pilot were on pace to be the first team of that flying season to leave Harbor Grace, Newfoundland. That was considered the jumping-off point for flying to Europe. But when another flight team, Wiley Post and Harold Gatty, caught up to them, and scrambled to be the first ones to set off to Europe, Hillig and Hoiriis actually helped the other team get ready to take off.Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York). Good Sportsmanship. Jun 24, 1931, Page 6. Hillig's modest goal was just "to be remembered pleasantly when I am remembered at all, as the man who flew the Atlantic and then came on back home and went to work."Hillig, Otto. I Flew the Atlantic for Pigs' Knuckles. Liberty. Sept. 19, 1931 (Vol. 8, No. 38). Page 34.
Some highlights of Hillig's plane trip included getting an audience with the King of Denmark, and getting knighted.Ibid. (King Christian was a "Brother Mason" to Hillig.)Maurer, C.F. Op. Cit., page 67. Despite the risks of flying there, he refused to load a radio or lifeboat on the plane, saving the room for gas.Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York), Storms Delay Ocean Hop of Liberty Plane. May 14, 1931. Page 2. They ran out of gas on the flight over Germany, anyway, from having strayed off course in bad weather so, they had to land initially short of their objective, Denmark.The Liberty Register. Hillig, Flier in 1931 of Atlantic, Dies Here. Sept. 16, 1954. Page 1.
Hillig's Castle About three years after that flight, and after invitations to give talks about it had become less frequent, Hillig began to have a castle built, with a turret. Inspired by castles he'd seen in Germany, he had it "made entirely of (local) Neversink River stone, (and) nestled prominently on the top of Mount Washington", near Liberty.Maurer, C.F. Op. Cit., page 70. (That "mount" is now simply called "Castle Hill".)Larsen, N. Hillig Castle: A Vernacular Landmark in the Southern Catskills. Hudson-Mohawk Vernacular Architecture Newsletter. Vol.1, No. 3 (2021). Pages 1-12. This article contains excellent old photographs, and detailed descriptions of the castle's architecture.
As castles go, it was rather small, and he never lived in it full time.Evidence for this includes that it never became his address for a Census. Some students who saw it on a field trip once described it as "a one-room cabin that was furnished like a hunting cabin…. On one side … is a tower with a large bell on top of it."The Liberty Register, Oct. 24, 1935, page 8. It was mostly a place where Otto could store his souvenirs, and host picnics and meetings of groups he belonged to, such as a Masonic Lodge and a Lutheran Church brotherhood, and invite school groups for field trips on the grounds.Numerous such events are referenced in social announcements or clips in the Liberty Register. When Otto Hillig died, he bequeathed the whole property and the castle to the Masons, and left considerable funds to other local churches, as well.The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York) Hillig Bequeaths Castle to Masons. Oct 3, 1954 · Page 1.
Family
In November 1901, Hillig married Irish-born Margaret Withers in Welland, Ontario, Canada,Ontario, Canada Marriages Records, 1826-1940. a town not far from Niagara Falls. (There is no evidence she lived in Canada.) They separated after a few years,1910 Federal Census entry for Otto Hillig: Margaret is not listed in his household. and Hillig eventually went to Reno, Nevada, to sue for divorce.Tippett, S.R. Summons, Otto Hillig, plaintive, vs. Margaret Hillig, Defendant. Published in Nevada State Journal, May 21, 1913, Page 7.
Hillig's mother, Pauline Fischer Hillig Schubert, and her second husband, Karl Schubert (father of Otto's step-brother), lived roughly a mile from Otto's home in Liberty, after they had arrived from Germany in 1905.1910 Federal Census entry for the Pauline Schubert and 'Carl' Schubert household in Liberty; it shows their immigration date and current street address. Mrs. Schubert, widowed in 1913, was killed in a kitchen fire in 1915.Middletown Times-Press. Burns Prove Fatal. Dec. 24, 1915. Page 3.
Before that tragic event, in 1914, Otto's German niece, Elsa Hillig, arrived in New York alone by ship, at age 16. Otto, her uncle, was named in the ship's passenger list as Elsa's "person in U.S,"New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, entry for Elsa Hillig. (sponsor). She lived in Hillig's apartment block for years until, at age 23, she married Herman Bressler.Otto's 1917 U.S. Draft Registration Card names Elsa Hillig as his Nearest Relative, with an address in the neighboring (or adjoining) apartments. She is still there in the 1920 Federal Census; and her 1923 marriage is recorded in New York, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1847-1849, 1907-1936 Occasionally, members of Elsa's family, which grew to include ten children, picnicked at Hillig's castle.The Liberty Register. Bresslers Have Picnic at Hillig Castle. Jul. 22, 1954, Page 5.
Hillig stayed, when ill in his final days, at the home of Herman Bressler, who was then a widower.The Liberty Register. Hillig, Flier in 1931 of Atlantic, Dies Here. Sept. 16, 1954. Page 4. In Hillig's will, he left $1000 each (roughly equivalent to $10,000 today) to each of Elsa's ten children, and another $1000 to Herman Bressler.The Liberty Register. More Than 40 Persons Named in Hillig's Will. Sep. 16, 1954, Page 1.