Jim Bishop, a semi-retired welder, has sweated for over forty years, building a monstrosity of a fortress near Rye, Colorado. They call it “the Jim Bishop castle” and Jim has carried an estimated 1000 tons of rocks and metal to build his enormous “house.”

The Jim Bishop castle has stained-glass windows, enormous fireplaces, towers with connecting bridges, and even a wrought-iron sculpture of a dragon’s head that breathes smoke.

But why was the Jim Bishop castle built? There is no real answer – Jim just calls his project “a monument to hardworking people.” He claims his castle is the biggest one-man project in the United States.

The federal government has hassled Jim over the years – because the rocks that he uses to build are taken from the San Isabel National Forest that borders the Jim Bishop castle property. But they can’t very well tear the structure down.

Jim is 65 years old and he’s promised to build until he dies. This kind of dedication isn’t uncommon for monument builders – there’s even a term for obsessed workers like Jim: “dementia concretia.”

Roadside America, the “number one guide for weird American tourist attractions,” describes the condition as an overwhelming urge to build structures from whatever building material is at hand, until a person can no longer physically work. A psychologist might look at the Jim Bishop castle and see a man pushing against the futility of life – but most visitors just want to pretend they’re in a fantasy for a hour or two.

You can see a YouTube video featuring Jim to the left, and there is more information about the Jim Bishop Castle available online (first link).

The Jim Bishop Castle
12705 CO-165, Rye - Beulah, CO

Directions: on I-25, turn west at Highway 165 going through Rye or Colorado City – it’s approximately 27 miles to the castle.


(H/T to RoadsideAmerica.com)


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