Stokes Castle is a three-story stone tower located near Austin, Nevada. It was built by

Anson Phelps Stokes Anson Phelps Stokes (February 22, 1838 – June 28, 1913) was a wealthy American merchant, property developer, banker, genealogist and philanthropist. Born in New York City, he was the son of James Boulter and Caroline Stokes. His paternal gran ...

, a mine developer, railroad magnate, and banker. Intending the building as a summer home, Stokes began building the castle in 1896, completing it in 1897. The castle is patterned after a tower that Stokes had seen and admired in the

Roman Campagna The Roman Campagna () is a low-lying area surrounding Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, with an area of approximately . It is bordered by the Tolfa and Sabatini mountains to the north, the Alban Hills to the southeast, and the Tyrrhe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The castle is built of hand-hewn native granite, and the stones were hoisted into place with a hand winch and held in place with rock wedging and clay mortar. The kitchen and dining room were on the first floor, while the second floor contained the living room and the third floor housed two bedrooms. Each of the floors had a fireplace, and the second and third floors each had a balcony. The roof had a

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

ed terrace. The family occupied the Stokes Castle for a short time. The family traveled west in June 1897 with friends and spent about a month in the castle. They spent a few more days in October 1897. They returned in the summer of 1898, but they sold their mine, the milling equipment, and the castle, and never returned to the town. Eventually, the castle fell into disrepair until Molly Magee Knudsen, a cousin of Stokes, bought the castle in 1956. The tower was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2003. The "Castle" was owned by HW Trapnell of Austin, NV and Dunsmuir, CA until he died on July 19, 2018. It is now operated by the Austin Historical Society.

References

{{commons category History of Nevada Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada Houses in Lander County, Nevada Houses completed in 1897 Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in the United States Italianate architecture in Nevada National Register of Historic Places in Lander County, Nevada