Correction & Clarification: This story has been edited to reflect that Jim Bishop had four children
The man who built one of southern Colorado’s most popular and diverse resorts died Nov. 21, the family of Jim Bishop, 80, announced Thursday morning.
“It is with a heavy heart that the Bishop family announces the death of James Roland Bishop,” the family said in a post on the Bishop Castle Facebook page. “Jim died early November 21st in Pueblo, surrounded by his loved ones. Services will be announced at a later date.”
The bishop was 15 years old when he began building what would become Bishop Castle, a towering, Gothic stone and wood structure that looks like it’s straight out of a fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm.
Bishop bought a 2.5-acre parcel in the middle of the San Isabel Forest in 1959 for $450, which he maintained by mowing the lawn, delivering newspapers, and working with his father, Willard, in the family’s ornamental metal works. , according to the Bishop Castle website.
Bishop said Chief in 2021 that he began building the structure as a tribute to his new bride, Phoebe.
“It’s hers – a great reminder of love for a woman,” Bishop said.
Jim Bishop and his dog Marley live on the grounds of Bishop Castle on April 18, 2021.
Over the years, Bishop continued to build the castle, even adding a fire-breathing dragon ornament in the mid-1980s. The dragon stood eighty feet in the air, from in front of the great ballroom.
In a 1994 interview with Chiefafter turning 50, Bishop described his life’s work as “the poor man’s Disneyland,” although he insisted at the time that it was “not a tourist trap.”
His family also made donations to the cause. His late wife, Phoebe, and their children, Danny, Valerie and Donita, and Scot Moore, who were raised in the care of the Bishops, all worked on this project for years.
The project has not been without risk, either Chief reported in 1994. The Bishops’ four-year-old son, Roy, died at a construction site in May 1988 when he was trapped under a fallen tree root.
Bishop Castle is located off Highway 165 in Rye, Colorado.
In a previous interview with ChiefBishop said they had various reasons for spending their lives building forts in the Colorado forest.
“I am doing this for the glory and honor of God,” he said. “But, I’m doing it for the honor and glory of Jim Bishop, too. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t say that.”
More local news from Pueblo: The cost of replacing Pueblo’s historic City Park swimming pool by more than 70%
Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @jayreutter1.
This article originally appeared on Pueblo Chief: Jim Bishop, who built a Colorado desert fort by hand, dies at 80.