{{Short description|Roadside attraction near Pueblo, Colorado, US}} {{for|places known as Bishop's Castle|Bishop's Castle (disambiguation)}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} thumb|The front half of Bishop Castle from the south. The main tower is over {{convert|160|ft|m|abbr=on}} tall. thumb|right|The front of the castle with view of towers.
'''Bishop Castle''' is an "elaborate and intricate"<ref name=pompia-2-5-2015/> "one-man project" named after its constructor, the late Jim Bishop,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-2728942.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104080609/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-2728942.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2012 |title=Builder prefers being king of what he sees/Castle is maverick's 33- year labor of love |last=Ragan |first=Tom |date=9 June 2002 |newspaper=The Gazette |accessdate=12 January 2010}}{{subscription required |date=October 2012}}</ref> that has become a roadside attraction in central Colorado.<ref name=CALHOUN-3-9-2015/>
The "castle" is located in south central Colorado on State Highway 165<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-144850880.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102225528/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-144850880.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |title=Adobe to Steel': Byway exhibit focuses on history's foundation: buildings. |last=Porter |first=Mary Jean |date=April 23, 2006 |newspaper=The Pueblo Chieftain |accessdate=12 January 2010}}{{subscription required |date=October 2012}}</ref> in the Wet Mountains of Southern Colorado in the San Isabel National Forest, southwest of Pueblo, Colorado.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NMAxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SeMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4229,331679 |title=Ripleys Believe it or not |date=July 11, 1983 |newspaper=Reading Eagle |accessdate=12 January 2010}}</ref>
== Overview == James Roland "Jim" Bishop was born in Honolulu in 1944.<ref name="obit" /> He moved to Colorado with his wife, where they raised four children, including a son named Dan.<ref name="obit" /> Bishop bought the land for the site for $450 when he was 15, and construction on what was originally intended to be a family project to build a cottage<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06211/709125-37.stm |title=The craziest castle in Colorado: Bishop's vision is a work in progress |last=Owen |first=Rob |date=July 30, 2006 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |accessdate=17 January 2010}}</ref> started in 1969.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F4D373CA3466A24&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=From a life's labor, a castle rises, Jim Bishop started his 160-foot-high creation in 1969. He doesn't plan to ever stop building. |date=July 14, 2002 |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |accessdate=12 January 2010}}{{link note |note=purchase required |date=October 2012}}</ref> When Bishop got a water tower he decided to cover it with rocks. Several neighbors said it reminded them of a castle and Bishop noted it looked like a turret. Bishop took this into consideration and soon began building.
In 1988, Bishop's third child, four year old Roy was killed in a logging accident at the castle site. When Bishop was asked in 2016 why he continued to build the castle, he replied, "Well, what am I gonna run to?! He loved this place."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boster |first1=Seth |title=Meet the man behind Bishop Castle, whose Colorado creation is a source of public envy and private ruin |url=https://gazette.com/life/meet-the-man-behind-bishop-castle-whose-colorado-creation-is-a-source-of-public-envy/article_bfec0eac-68fe-5e63-85b6-7736110a6c2d.html|newspaper=The Gazette (Colorado Springs) |date=Aug 28, 2016 |access-date=22 May 2023}}</ref>
According to Roadsideamerica, "for most" of the 40 years he had worked on the castle "Bishop was engaged in a running battle with Washington bureaucrats over the rocks that he used," which came from the National Forest surrounding his property. "Bishop felt that they were his for the taking, the government wanted to charge him per truckload." That dispute was settled.<ref name=ra /> In 1996, he was challenged by the local and state government over unsanctioned road signs that pointed to the site. They settled the dispute by issuing official road signs.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/17158519.html?dids=17158519:17158519&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+11%2C+1996&author=Denis+M.+Searles%2C+Associated+Press.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=A+MAN%27S+CASTLE+UNDER+SIEGE+BY+BUREAUCRATS&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131173259/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/17158519.html?dids=17158519:17158519&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+11,+1996&author=Denis+M.+Searles,+Associated+Press.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=A+MAN'S+CASTLE+UNDER+SIEGE+BY+BUREAUCRATS&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |title=A Man's Castle Under Siege by Bureaucrats |date=May 11, 1996 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=12 January 2010 |first1=Denis M. |last1=Searles }}{{link note|note= Abstract only, purchase required|date=March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/16677116.html?dids=16677116:16677116&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+28%2C+1996&author=DENIS+M.+SEARLES&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=Castle+Craftsman+Withstands+Long+State+Siege%3B+Colorado%3A+Jim+Bishop+draws+60%2C000+visitors+a+year+to+his+creation+in+the+mountains+while+fending+off+assaults+by+highway+and+tax+officials.&pqatl=google |title=Castle Craftsman Withstands Long State Siege; Colorado: Jim Bishop draws 60,000 visitors a year to his creation in the mountains while fending off assaults by highway and tax officials |last=Searles |first=Denis M |date=April 28, 1996 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |accessdate=12 January 2010 |archive-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024183555/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/16677116.html?dids=16677116:16677116&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+28,+1996&author=DENIS+M.+SEARLES&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Castle+Craftsman+Withstands+Long+State+Siege%3B+Colorado:+Jim+Bishop+draws+60,000+visitors+a+year+to+his+creation+in+the+mountains+while+fending+off+assaults+by+highway+and+tax+officials.&pqatl=google |url-status=dead }}{{link note |note=purchase required |date=October 2012}}</ref>
The site has become a tourist attraction. RoadsideAmerica.com devoted a chapter to the castle and rated it "major fun" and describing it as, "one man's massive-obsessive labor of medieval fantasy construction".<ref>search on Roadsideamerica.com</ref> But it also issued a "parent's alert," warning potential visitors that Jim Bishop was "a tough-talking man with strong, extreme beliefs, and sometimes he expresses them bluntly and loudly. If you and your children want to avoid potentially offensive rants (involving politics), you may want to steer clear."<ref name=ra>{{cite web|title=Bishop Castle|url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2047|website=roadsideamerica.com|accessdate=31 December 2015}}</ref>
In the winter of 2014–15 a dispute developed over control of the castle after Jim Bishop and his wife Phoebe were both diagnosed with cancer, and David Merrill, who Jim "considered a friend," was made a trustee of Bishop Castle. According to Westword.com website, Merrill turned the site into "Castle Church—for the Redemption", according to the Custer County Clerk and Recorder's Office.<ref name=CALHOUN-3-9-2015 /> The Bishops "spent $20,000 trying to get a clear title to Bishop Castle, and to get Merrill's name off all paperwork."<ref name=CALHOUN-3-9-2015>{{cite web|last1=CALHOUN|first1=PATRICIA|title=RENOWNED ROADSIDE ATTRACTION BISHOP CASTLE UNDER SIEGE IN SOUTHERN COLORADO|url=http://www.westword.com/news/renowned-roadside-attraction-bishop-castle-under-siege-in-southern-colorado-7090379|website=Westword|accessdate=31 December 2015|date=3 September 2015}}</ref><ref name=pompia-2-5-2015>{{cite news|last1=pompia|first1=jon|title=Controversy invades Bishop Castle|url=http://www.chieftain.com/news/3564835-120/castle-merrill-bishop-phoebe|accessdate=31 December 2015|agency=the pueblo chieftain|date=May 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013063959/http://www.chieftain.com/news/3564835-120/castle-merrill-bishop-phoebe|archive-date=13 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> This was resolved with Merrill no longer on the paperwork.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calhoun |first=Patricia |title=Famed Roadside Attraction Bishop Castle Gets a Happy Ending |url=https://www.westword.com/news/famed-roadside-attraction-bishop-castle-gets-a-happy-ending-7182658 |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=Westword |language=en}}</ref>
thumb|thumbtime=7|Drone views of the castle in 2019. A song about the castle, called "Fire Breathing Dragon," is featured on the 2017 album, ''The Castle Builder'', by English musician Kid Carpet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.threeweeksedinburgh.com/article/kid-carpet-building-castles-on-the-fringe/|title=Kid Carpet: Building castles on the Fringe|last=Moses|first=Caro|date=28 July 2016|website=|access-date=}}</ref>
On March 28, 2018, a fire occurred on the Bishop Castle property, destroying the gift shop and a guest house. The fire is speculated to have been caused by an electrical fault. It did not damage the castle itself (which is mostly made of stone).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/news/canoncity-local-news/ci_31769630/investigators-cause-bishops-castle-fire-likely-electrical|title=Investigators: Cause of Bishop's Castle fire likely electrical|last=Canterbury|first=Carie|date=29 March 2018|website=Canon City Daily Record|access-date=10 April 2018}}</ref> Despite the fire, the attraction re-opened to the public later that week, while being supported with donations and volunteer labor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.koaa.com/story/37891976/volunteers-help-pick-up-debris-after-bishop-castle-fire|title=Volunteers help pick up debris after Bishop Castle Fire|last=Kraemer|first=Sam|date=5 April 2018|publisher=KOAA News 5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406012913/http://www.koaa.com/story/37891976/volunteers-help-pick-up-debris-after-bishop-castle-fire|archive-date=2018-04-06|url-status=dead|access-date=10 April 2018}}</ref>
Jim Bishop died on November 21, 2024, in Pueblo, Colorado, at the age of 80.<ref name="obit">{{Cite news |last=Sheahan |first=Eleanor |date=December 6, 2024 |title=The castle builder's legacy lives on, a memorial service held Friday for James (Jim) Roland Bishop in Pueblo |url=https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/the-castle-builders-legacy-lives-on-a-memorial-service-held-friday-for-james-jim-roland-bishop-in-pueblo |access-date=February 4, 2025 |work=KOAA}}</ref> His son Dan took over as the castle's caretaker.<ref name="obit" />
=== Gallery === {{Gallery |title=Views of Bishop Castle |mode=packed |align=center |footer= |File:Bishop Castle Fairview CO.jpg |The front half of Bishop Castle from the north. The main tower is over {{convert|160|ft|m|abbr=on}} tall. |File:Arched windows with a mountain view inside Bishop's Castle, a most eclectic art installation 9,000 feet high in the mountains of southern Colorado, up a winding road from San Isabel in San Isabel LCCN2015632551.tif |Arched windows with a mountain view inside Bishop Castle. |File:A rocky, somewhat risky, twist and turn along a soaring tower of Bishop's Castle, a most eclectic art installation 9,000 feet high in the mountains of southern Colorado, up a winding road from San LCCN2015632550.tif |A rocky twist and turn along a soaring tower of Bishop Castle. |File:A rubble pile that makes some sort of artistic statement outside Bishop's Castle, a most eclectic art installation 9,000 feet high in the mountains of southern Colorado, up a winding road from San LCCN2015632543.tif |A rubble pile outside Bishop Castle }}
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commonscatinline}} * {{Official website|http://www.bishopcastle.org}} * [http://www.sangres.com/colorado/national-forests/sanisabel/bishopcastle.htm History, photos and status as of June 2007] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Yu-xN4tjg&t=3108 Video, giving a good impression of the castle] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061003073851/http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/CO3164/ Entry at the Center for Land Use Interpretation] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090718211412/http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2108/places/12714/ Entry for Bishop Castle at the National Scenic Byways website] {{portal bar|United States|Colorado}}
{{Coord|38|3|41.22|N|105|5|39.87|W|region:US-CO_type:landmark|display=title}}
Category:Visionary environments in the United States Category:Castles in the United States Category:Unfinished castles Category:Landmarks in Colorado Category:Folly buildings in the United States Category:Tourist attractions in Custer County, Colorado Category:Roadside attractions in Colorado Category:Houses in Custer County, Colorado Category:San Isabel National Forest