Nestled in the Wet Mountains of Colorado, at an elevation of 9000, is the world’s largest one-man project, The Bishop Castle. From 1969 to 2019, the monument was constructed by one man, all by himself, James Roland Bishop, also known as Jim Bishop, the Castle Builder, according to the website.
Laying the foundation
Jim Bishop had always been captivated by the majestic mountains rising up to the southwest of Pueblo, where he grew up. One fine day in 1959, while he was riding bicycles with friends along a mountain road in the San Isabel National Forest, Jim found a small slice of heaven tucked away at an elevation of 9,000.This 2 1/2 acre parcel of land was surrounded by national forest on three sides. While working with his father Willard in the family ornamental iron business and also doing side gigs mowing lawns and delivering newspapers, the 15-year-old had put away $450 in savings. Since he was too young to buy the land himself, he convinced his parents to buy it for him, using his savings.For the next ten summers, Jim and his father camped out on the land and prepped the area for the construction of a family cottage. This experience exposed Jim to a peculiar affinity for hands-on work, such as swinging an axe and wielding a shovel. In June of 1969, he and his father began building a rock cottage, which included a water tank surrounded by a rock wall and some arched windows. Friends and family would come up to visit, and many of them commented that it looked like a castle. By 1972, rumours had spread in the local communities of a castle being built near San Isabel in Colorado.This planted the idea in Jim’s mind and it swiftly took root. The next spring in 1973, Jim began digging a hole down to bedrock out in front of the cottage to be. When Willard asked “Jim, what are you doing now?”, Jim replied, “The people want a castle and I’m gonna’ build them a castle!” Willard threw his hands up and said “That’s just too much work! We came to the mountains to get away from people, and now you want to build them a castle?”
Why a castle?
He was inspired to do something grand, something the world hadn’t seen yet.
Eventually, Jim dropped out of high school after an argument with one of his teachers who told him, “You’ll never amount to anything Jim Bishop!” And history holds true to the fact that it is mostly these students whose teachers have told them that they wouldn’t be able to do something, who truly make it in life.For Jim, the comment sparked a fire to prove his teacher wrong. The words inspired him to do something grand, something the world hadn’t seen yet. As people would come to see him working on the castle, many doubted if he would be able to complete it alone. “What are you doing Jim? You’re never going to pull this off!” they would tell him.In one interview, he declared, “I want to see how long I can live and what I can build with my hands… It drives me on. It makes me say ‘Oh ya? You say I can’t do this? Well watch me!’”But Jim was never a man of wealth, so how did he manage to build the castle? Early in the Castle’s construction, Jim funded the project with his own money, a sacrifice that he believed would be worth it in the long run. Eventually, he decided to begin accepting donations. Despite many people’s suggestions that he could be making a lot of money on the place, he did not want to charge admission or allow the place to become a tourist trap.He always welcomed people to visit and tour the castle without charging them any kind of fees or dues. He only asked that they donate what they could afford and he would build as much as the visitors provided for.
A legacy for life
In 2019, Jim unknowingly did the last work on his monument, setting small rocks into place along parts of the Great Wall, without using any concrete, as he was physically incapable of mixing mortar and hauling it in buckets. “I pray to God every day that I get back to my old self”, he said in an interview, as Parkinson’s Disease had robbed him of his strength little by little. However, he continued to welcome visitors, answer questions, and tell stories every chance he had. He often reminisced about his “gal” Phoebe, who had passed away in 2018, and shared photos of her with everyone he met.His son Daniel and daughter-in-law Sage took care of him for several years, even moving into his home to care for him. One day in 2023, after landing in the hospital for a bout of dehydration, it was decided that a long-term care facility would be in his best interest.As his health deteriorated, Jim found peace in the fact that his son was the Castle Caretaker now, and would ensure his legacy continued the way he wanted. On November 21, 2024, Jim Bishop passed away, surrounded by loved ones, and assured that his gift to the world would remain long after his time here on earth. Daniel Bishop now cares for his father’s work and has been the Castle Caretaker since about 2018, when his mother passed away and his father’s health began to decline more rapidly. Daniel plans to keep his father’s legacy alive, and even has plans to finish Roy’s Tower, among other projects on the property.
