JEFFERSON CITY, Mo – Take your little princes and princesses on a journey back in time by visiting one of the many mansions and castles that grace the countryside in the Show-Me-State. Missouri is home to more than 20 castle-like structures that are open to the public, offering a unique way to delve into the world of kings and queens.
As you approach Rockcliffe Mansion, www.RockcliffeMansion.com, set atop a hill in Hannibal, you’ll see the beauty of this charming home built in 1900 by lumber baron J. J. Cruikshank. It is one of the most well preserved house museums in America with more than 60 percent of the Cruikshank family’s original furniture, décor items and personal belongings intact. In 1967, the mansion was saved from the wrecking ball by several prominent Hannibal families, and it has been open as a museum since 1968. The mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. When touring Rockcliffe Mansion, take note of the architecture and keep in mind it was designed by the same architects — Barnett, Haynes and Barnett — who also designed and built the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City, www.MissouriMansion.org, and the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis, www.CathedralStl.org.
Your family may not have any dragons to slay, but you’ll find many wild creatures in a natural setting as you amble toward Ha Ha Tonka Castle located in Ha Ha Tonka State Park, near Camdenton on the Niangua arm of the Lake of the Ozarks, http://www.MoStateParks.com/hahatonka.htm. Built as an escape from busy city life, Kansas City businessman Robert McClure Snyder was so in awe of the beauty of the area he acquired more than 5,000 acres to build a European-style castle. Snyder even imported stonemasons from Scotland and hired a European supervisor to ensure construction, beginning in 1905, remained authentic. Unfortunately, in 1906, he was involved in one of the state’s first car accidents and was killed before the castle was completed. The interior of the castle remained unfinished until 1922 when Snyder's sons, Robert Jr., Leroy and Kenneth, completed the upper floors of the building. In 1942, Ha Ha Tonka caught fire and was gutted. What remained was the stark, devastated outside walls that majestically stand on the edge of the cliff. The State of Missouri purchased the estate in 1978 and opened it to the public as a state park. In addition to the castle, this state park offers many trails, caves and bluffs for all nature lovers to enjoy.
Resembling a castle and built with more than 1 million bricks, the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion, www.StJoMo.com/wyethtootle_mansion.aspx, in St. Joseph was built in 1879 by William and Eliza Wyeth. The Wyeths, owners of Wyeth Hardware and Manufacturing Company and Wyeth Saddle Factory, built this 43-room Gothic-style mansion but lived in it less than 10 years. The house was purchased by Mrs. Kate Tootle, the widow of Milton Tootle, who was said to have amassed the largest fortune of any individual in the city at the time. The Wyeth-Tootle Mansion is now a museum showcasing the home in the 1900s, and exhibits on St. Joseph history and the life and death of Jesse James.
Journey toward the Vaile Mansion in Independence and you’ll behold a 31-room mansion beaming with extravagant furnishings and hand-painted murals, www.VaileMansion.org. Considered by Architecture Magazine as an exceptional example of Second-Empire Victorian architecture, this mansion was crafted in the early 1880s by local entrepreneur and U.S. Mail contractor Harvey Merrick Vaile. The Mansion was inspired by a large house in Normandy, France, and hosts massive marble fireplaces and detailed murals. The mansion offers tours, and in the early summer, hosts a Strawberry Festival the whole family will enjoy.
As you continue your royal quest through many of Missouri’s castles, don’t miss Sedalia’s Castle on the Hill, Bothwell Lodge, www.MoStateParks.com/bothwell.htm. Between 1897 and 1928, this castle was built for a well-known Sedalia lawyer named John Homer Bothwell. The 12,000-square-foot lodge is constructed atop three caves and was built in four different sections. Not only is the house handsomely appointed, Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site offers nature lovers hiking trails, bike paths, a picnic area and playground equipment for the kids.
To discover more Missouri castles and mansions, or to get a free copy of the 2010 Official Missouri Travel Guide, log on to www.VisitMO.com or call toll-free 800-519-4800.
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Contact:
Sarah Luebbert
Missouri Division of Tourism
573-522-5501
sarah.luebbert@ded.mo.gov
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