Lectures Underway: Gillette Castle

oin us aboard RiverQuest for a special cruise with Paul Schiller, who after years of giving tours of Gillette Castle, is taking his act on the road (or river). Paul, a self-described “Castle Nerd” and “Gillexpert”, will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Gillette Castle and its namesake, William Gillette. He will take you “behind the stones” and unlock the secrets of the castle and its mysterious creator.


Paul Schiller spent almost a decade working at Gillette Castle. Aside from providing engaging and informative tours to castle visitors, he served as an archivist, researcher and educator for the park. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Paul created a series of video tours of the castle, available on the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park YouTube Channel.

Paul has spoken about the castle on local radio stations such as iCRV in Ivoryton, WPKN Bridgeport, WGCH Greenwich, WTIC-AM, and WRCH and WSHU. Likewise, he has been interviewed on NBC Connecticut and Fox61 and appeared on NESN’s ‘New England Boating’ and WFSB’s ‘Better Connecticut’ (now Great Day). He has presented his Gillecture at multiple venues, including the Little Theater of Manchester and Danbury Public Library, Cheshire Public Library and the Mark Twain House and Museum.

You may also like the following events from Connecticut River Museum:

• This Thursday, 14th August, 05:30 pm, Thursdays on the Dock: Parker’s Tangent in Essex
• This Saturday, 16th August, 08:00 am, Conquer the Current 2025 in Essex
• Next Thursday, 21st August, 05:30 pm, Thursdays on the Dock: Local Honey in Essex

Also check out other Arts events in Essex, Theatre events in Essex.