Bishop Castle in Pueblo, Colorado started long ago back in 1959 when young Jim Bishop at the age of 15 paid $450 dollars for 2-1/2 acres of land in southern Colorado. Fast forward to his early married years when he started building a one room stone cottage for himself and his wife on the property using the free rocks on the land. Family and friends remarked quite often that the stone cottage looked like a castle due to the tower shaped fireplace he built. The idea of a castle took hold and Mr. Bishop began to do just that, build a castle.
News of a Kingdom being built in the mountains of Colorado spread. Bishop often received offers of help from people who came to see what was going on, but even though he said, sure anytime, no real help ever arrived. Hence, this has been a one-man castle-building endeavor of love.
There were no official plans or blueprints. His book “Castle Building from my point of view.” chronicles the building and history of the castle. He has handled every stone himself and done everything – hauled rocks from highway ditches, hand dug 12 foot deep holes for the foundations, mixed mortar and carried it up, made pulleys, and built scaffolds.
Over the years more and more visitors came to see the phenomenal castle built in the mountains in Colorado. Not wanting to charge visitors, Bishop allowed a donations box to help fund his ongoing building expenses. Now, he only builds with donation money and has hopes to build an elevator someday.
The American Dream – Jim Bishop believes in a free America to pursue your dreams. The building of a one room stone cottage turned castle represents the American Dream in an inspiring and tangible way.
I want to be 15 again, buy some land for $450 dollars, and build a stone cottage. How about you?
To read more history or plan a visit click over to the Official Bishop Castle site.
Love castles or want to buy one for yourself? Check out Dunham Castle For Sale.
I crown thee Queen for the Day or King for the Day, as the case may be.
Thanks for visiting.
All photos for this post via creative commons wikimedia.
Sources as linked above and wikipedia.
