I received E-Mail that said:
There is a castle called Kaycee Hall which took its name from the Knights Of Columbus, this castle has been vacant for years I used to go with friends to tour the castle late at night and sometimes during the day, now when I say tour I mean there was no tour guide just open the door and walk right in. The fireplaces in this castle have openings at least 6 feet in height only because I am 5'9 now and can still stand up in the fireplace without hitting my head. It is definitely a landmark for the town but as for the state it has never even existed. It needs repair work bad I would not recommend going in there to tour now, but when your kids nothing seems to be that dangerous. Its basements are not accessible any longer one used to be connected to a mine where that lead I don't know. You can tell in some areas of the castle how much work went into building it, reminds me of the castle on that movie "The Haunting" lots of craftsman ship, but the dry desert and wood don't mix so its a shame such a large structure is vanishing year by year.
On 6-2-07, I received E-Mail that said:
It's anything but a castle. From an architectural standpoint, it's a low-slung craftsman style structure with one upper-storey terrace and a lower terrace that has been haphazardly turned into a rather ackward garage / port cochiere.
I know that a very inexperienced speculator owned the building in the 80's but really hadn't a clue of restorative techniques and proceeded to (yes, this is accurate) dynamite the central staircase out of the stairhall itself Thankfully, shortly thereafter he gave up. The foundations are the typical white rock found in similar structures through out the town. There is no entrance to a mine shaft and is known locally as being a private joke.
While it does command some austere views of the mountain ranges and desert surrounds, this is honestly a rich miner's version of a California cedar-shake craftsman out of Berkeley; most likely modeled after some of Julia Morgan's designs or nearly similar.
It does feature some nice detailing for the geographic locale of where it was built, ie: egg and dart molding on the remaining doors; 4 over 2 panel double sash windows; oak flooring; river rock chimneys, etc.
The property is privately owned -albeit falling in on itself- but the neighbors, police, Nye County sheriff and a number of rabid dogs keep a sharp lookout for trespassers. Best keep your distance.
Does anyone have a photo?
Back to "Castles of the United States"