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Bishops Castle

One of the Biggest, One Man Built Structures On Earth! Bishops Castle is sort of like a Mad Max version of a Medieval castle hidden within the Rocky Mountain Forest. The site is spectacular and the best part is, you can explore it all the way to the top!

History

In 1959, Jim Bishop purchased the land when he was 15 years of age. In 1969 he started building and has not stopped ever since. The castle is a construction site. It will remain in construction until Jim passes away and maybe even longer if his children or grandchildren take over.

Jim Bishop: The Castle Builder

He was born in Hawaii but his family moved to Colorado before he was 1. He learned how to weld at a very young age because his father owned a iron ornament company. When he was 15 he dropped out of school after a teacher told him that he wouldn’t amount to anything. A few months later he bought a 2.5 acre piece of land for $1250 in Custer County, Colorado. The down payment was $450. He had $500 saved up from delivering newspapers, mowing lawns and working with his father in the family iron ornament business.  You can see his iron work all over the castle, it’s absolutely gorgeous! His parents had to sign the papers for him because he was too young to do it himself. It was heavily wooded and he spent the following summers clearing a part of the land with his father.

He started building 10 years later in spring of 1969. It started out as a rock cabin but everyone kept asking him if he was building a castle so he decided to turn it into a castle. He has never had a blueprint for his project, it’s all in his head and he just goes with the flow. This way, if he makes a mistake, he can call it art. He built the entire castle by himself. He’s still building and will keep building until the day he dies. He doesn’t want any help because he wants to see what he is capable of building in his lifetime. So far it’s quite an accomplishment! This castle is surreal!

Converting the Castle into a Charity

The Bishops decided to turn it into a charity because there was just too many visitors and they couldn’t get any peace at their cabin. They want the site to remain accessible to everyone so they refuse to charge an admission fee. Jim made sure that the castle would remain free forever by writing in legal documents that the castle will remain free for as long as it stands. In 1976 they applied for a tax exemption but didn’t get one until 1984.

Tragedy strikes the Castle!

In 1988 during a storm, a tree fell across the road in front of the castle. Their eldest son was cutting the tree so that the family could use it as firewood. Their youngest son Roy who was almost 5 fell asleep in the hole where the tree was uprooted. As his brother cut the tree, it sprung back up into place crushing Roy below.

Jim started building a tower in his memory, Roy’s Tower. It hasn’t been completed yet. He plans on putting Roy’s ashes on top of it once it is.

David Merrill tries to steal the Castle

David Merrill is the son of Louanne Van Pelt, the inspiration for Lucy in Charlie Brown. Davids plan was to turn the castle into a church. He wanted to turn it into the Castle Church for the redemption of the office Bishop. Whatever that’s supposed to mean. He tricked the Bishops into making him the Trustee for the castle. Jim was diagnosed with a rare case of cancer and he was going through radiation therapy when David made Jim sign a warranty deed. David started telling people he owned the castle. The Bishops had to fight to get their castle back. It cost the Bishops $20,000 to get Davids name off all of the paperwork.

Fire at the Castle

March 28 2018 an electrical fire started in the gift shop and it burned to the ground along with a guest house. The image below is what the gift shop looked like before it burned down. The gift shop was one of the main sources of funding for the Castle. The damages were estimated at $185,000. Please donate when you visit.

This is a free site. Please Donate! The site is entirely funded through the gift shop and donations. Please respect the site! Dogs are not allowed on this site, please leave your puppy at home and not in the car. There are restrooms by the entrance. Bring water, good walking shoes and a camera. There is a gift shop.

From I25 Take exit 74 for CO-165W towards Colorado City/ Rye. Destination is on your left. Parking is on along the street. You will usually see a bunch of cars parked along the street and you will know you have arrived.