Redstone Castle (Manitou Springs, Colorado) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Redstone Castle
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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 Location in Colorado
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| Location | Manitou Springs, Colorado |
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| Part of | Manitou Springs Historic District (ID83003516) |
Redstone Castle or Crawford House is a historic building in Manitou Springs, located within the Manitou Springs Historic District.
Overview
It is located on 75 acres off of Pawnee Avenue and Iron Mountain Road. The large Queen Anne house is made of red sandstone. It was once a bed and breakfast, but is now privately owned.
Dr. Isaac Davis
Dr. Isaac Davis, an English physician, moved to Manitou Springs in 1874 and was one of the city's founders. He and his family homesteaded the land that Redstone Castle sits on. The father of 15 owned several businesses in town including a shoe store on Canon Avenue and a pharmacy. As his health started to decline, he sold his homestead in 1880 or 1881 to two brothers named Davis, but unrelated to the doctor. The purchase agreement included the words: "Buyer Beware" and carried a stipulation that the graves of "early trappers, pioneers, soldiers and vagabonds" were to be moved to the new Crystal Valley Cemetery.
Davis brothers
The Davis brothers built Redstone Castle in 1890 as a model home for an elite development called Manitou Terrace Estates on Iron Mountain. They published ads to attract the wealthy and established colorful billboards in the east of Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak and Rainbow Falls. None of the lots sold, however, reputedly because buyers learned that the land was haunted. Some believed this was because some, but not all, of the graves had been moved from the hillside to the Crystal Valley Cemetery.
Hawkins family
The castle was vacant for years. Balem Hawkins was hired as caretaker of the estate and moved in with his family. The family began hearing voices and seeing apparitions. Their dog "became nervous and high-strung". Hawkins shot a crazed dog that had attacked his wife. According to legend, the dog reappeared and the family heard a dog howling and scratching at the doors in the night. They moved out the next morning.
