Castle Tales: Miramount Castle

I became obsessed with castles in third grade, after a field trip to Glen Eyrie. I fell in love with everything from the scary-high ceilings, to the intricate wallpaper, to the ancient solarium. I wanted nothing more than to live there.

It is now my goal to visit all of the many castles in Colorado (and any others that I come across). The weekend before last, I paid my first visit to Miramount Castle in Manitou Springs, CO, and thought that I would share a bit about the experience.

The west wing of the castle was built as a home for Fr. Jean Baptiste Francolon and his mother in 1895, and the east wing was added two years later. Before the west wing was built, they lived in a home on a small piece of land that now serves as the castle’s parking lot. Once he moved into Miramount, Fr. Francolon donated his old house to the Sisters of Mercy to use as a sanitarium.

In the early 20th century, the Francolons returned to their home country of France, and the Sisters of Mercy bought Miramount in 1904. In 1907, their old sanitarium burned to the ground, and the Sisters began using the castle as their year-round sanitarium. This continued until 1927, after which time they used it only as a vacation house.

The Sisters of Mercy sold Miramount in 1946. It was divided into nine apartments for returning WWII soldiers and renamed “Castle Apartments”. The building suffered greatly in the following 30 years and was sold many times.

Finally, in 1976, the Manitou Springs Historical Society bought the building, rescuing it from condemnation. The historical society continues to rely on volunteers to restore Miramount Castle to its former glory.

The castle now includes a fire museum; the original entrance hall; a 20-ton, sandstone fireplace; a serving kitchen; a two-foot-thick wall where the west wing leads into the east; a section of original wallpaper (set with Paris Green and extremely poisonous); a grand staircase; a seven-sided solarium (once a conservatory); a replica of a Victorian bathroom; and antique toys that predate 1900.

Though it still requires thousands of volunteer hours, Miramount Castle is a fascinating location and one that I plan to visit again. You can learn more about it on the castle’s website.