Just south of Warsaw on the Mississippi there stands a Moorish castle. Inside, ornate wooden lattice work twists shadows up the walls of a narrow stairway. Railings, doors, windows, ceilings, all are beautifully carved. It is as if you stepped into a rich merchant's home in northern Africa but there is no furniture. George Metz, rich playboy and world traveler of the late 1800s, built the castle for his sweetheart who died before its completion.
Rumor also has it that Metz buried his pet dog Bingo with a big cache of gold somewhere on the property. Numerous attempts to exhume Bingo prove fruitless.
Later, I received E-Mail that gave the location as:
Villa Kathrine
532 Gardner Expressway
217-224-3688
Open: Sunday 1 - 5 PM, Monday - Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM
Admission: Free
A Moorish Castle listed in National Register of Historic Places
Later I received the following E-Mail with the second picture:
Moorish Castle on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in Quincy, IL has recently and continues to be improved and rehabed. Interior has some beauty. if I get some photos of the interior I will send them your way.
Later, I received E-Mail with a picture of the interior.
A couple of interior photos taken from post cards showing the interior of the Villa Katherine in Quincy, Illinois. Hope you find them useful. This is a good place to visit also. Quincy is near Hannibal, MO (Mark Twain fame) and Nauvoo, Il (Mormon Historic site)
On 11-9-08, I received e-mail that said:
I wanted to pass on some information about the castle. It is not free anymore - it costs $3.00 per person to go through.
Back to "Castles of the United States"
First photo courtsey of Tina Starnes. Second photo courtesy of Derv Garrison.