In California’s Death Valley National Park, not
too far from the Ubehebe Crater, stands an unusual structure. It’s
been called both a ranch and a castle, yet while it resembles both (a
kind Spanish Manor House/Fairy Tale Caste/Adobe Hacienda) it is truly
neither, and given its convoluted history this is entirely fitting.
To really understand the story of the 32,000-square foot compound called
Scotty’s Castle one has to know the story of Death Valley Scotty
himself. Walter Scott was born in 1872 in Kentucky, but went west at
11 with his brothers. Over the next 44 years he was a mule-skinner,
a performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and, most often,
a flamboyant con-man. His specialty became getting east-coast investors
to pay him thousands of dollars to work non-existent gold mines in Death
Valley, and then, when the investors got impatient, claim to have been
robbed of all the gold-dust by bandits.
A wealthy investor that fell prey to Scotty’s schemes was one
Albert Johnson. Johnson actually visited Death Valley, and soon became
wise to Scotty, yet the two men formed an enduring friendship. Johnson
actually enjoyed the Death Valley California climate, so he and his
wife decided to build an estate there.
True to form, Scotty began referring to this “ranch” as
Scotty’s Castle, even though Johnson owned it and Scotty never
actually lived there. The name stuck so well that many of Scotty’s
former victims tried to sue him for the ownership of the compound. Unfortunately
for Johnson the stock market crash crippled him financially, and much
of the castle is left unfinished, including a 270-foot swimming pool.
Today Scotty’s Castle Death Valley is a major tourist attraction,
with tours, a visitor’s center, a snack bar and plenty of portraits
of a certain smiling swindler called Scotty.
