Freshwater Knoll
Freshwater Knoll is a location in Barlow County in the Melisende Dulac Series.
Details
Located on the ridge on the east side of Samuelton, Freshwater Knoll is a mansion built by Selwyn Freshwater in 1921. It was the first house built on what would eventually be called College Ridge but was then called simply East Spur, and overlooked the growing town of Samuelton. During the 1920s, the house was both a center of Samuelton society and a place to drink, with Selwyn hosting parties multiple times each week. Because the house was built with Prohibition in mind, it included a number of hidden rooms in the basement for storing illegal alcohol.
After the fortunes of the Freshwaters were severely hit during the Great Depression, the house was sold. Over the years it would pass through several hands until finally begin left uninhabited for several years.
Clark Freshwater purchased the house after he graduated from college, bringing back into the Freshwater family. Though no longer wealthy, he worked hard to maintain the appearance of the old, landed gentry. He and his wife Dorothy began renovating the property, though progress was slow over the years. At intervals, renovations were interrupted by the births of their children and lack of resources. By the time of the Freshwater Murders, much of the house remained in disrepair, including most of the upstairs, the pool/sauna room, and the living dining rooms.
Freshwater Knoll would later be the site of the Freshwater Murders.