According to an old family legend, Jeremiah built Collinwood in 1830 for his new bride Josette, whom he had brought over from Paris, France (5, 45). The rest of the Collins family, as well as the entire town of Collinsport, hated Josette because she was different. She couldn't stand it and eventually jumped to her death off the cliff at Widows' Hill (5). It is true that Jeremiah was instrumental in the construction of the house, but there is documented evidence that Collinwood was built and inhabited as early as 1795.