16 Most Beautiful Castles in Missouri

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Missouri is known as the “Show Me State” since Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver proclaimed, “I’m from Missouri, and you’ve got to show me,” which nicely balances the state legend, “The Welfare of the People is the Highest Law.”

The state flower is the White Hawthorn Blossom; the mule is its spirit animal; and “Missouri Waltz” is the titular tune.

Add castles to the list of Missouri’s attractions.

Some are conventional castles; some are contemporary in style and vintage.

Other palaces are painstakingly-restored; some have never completed construction, and others lie in ruins.

Yet, all share an elegant vision and a commitment to architectural excellence. 

The Castles of Missouri

Many castles, chateaus, and mansions are easy day trips, so get ready to explore the turrets, towers, sunken gardens, and magnificent vistas of castles in Missouri.

Castles offer beautiful grounds and rural settings; some allow tours or overnight stays.

Twin Turret Farm and Castle

Nestled in the Route du Vin Trail vicinity, the Hawn State Park and the Mark Twain National Forest provide dazzling views from the castle.

This Bavarian-style castle comes with a private lake.

Prefer swimming indoors?

Try out the indoor swimming pool.

And did we mention the waterfall? 

Nowadays, Twin Turret Farm and Castle is an Airbnb.

It has seven bedrooms for up to sixteen guests to sleep like royalty!

Enjoy amenities such as stairs in each bedroom and a turret; note: some bathrooms possess drapery rather than doors. 

Pythian Castle

Pythian Castle was named one of Missouri’s 100 “Best Kept Secrets.” Now, the secret is shared.

Also known as the Pythian Home of Missouri, the castle possesses two floors: a ballroom, dining halls, and parlors, and the second-floor shelters dormitory-style rooms, bedrooms, and a theater.

The castle’s exterior is Carthage stone; the interior is steel and concrete floors.

Initially built by the Knights of Pythias in 1913, the U.S. Military took over the castle in 1942, and Tamara Finocchiaro currently holds the castle.

Guests can wander the halls year-round or partake in a ghost tour. 

Bothwell Lodge

The eponymous castle was the creation of John Homer Bothwell, Esquire, a Sedalia lawyer who built the castle atop two of the 6,400 caves in Missouri. 

The castle is a 31-room, 12,000-square-foot recreational lodge, and sports a 3-mile hiking and biking trail.

If you think your home repair project is challenging, the Bothwell Lodge, currently state-owned, is noteworthy for the length of time it was under construction.

The building of the lodge began in 1890 and was completed in 1921.

Cupples Mansion

The Cupples Mansion, aka the Samuel Cupples House, is located on the campus of St. Louis University.

Samuel Cupples commissioned the 42-room Mansion with its Tiffany-style windows and 22 fireplaces in the late 1880s.

In 1908, the Cupples Mansion was relocated from its original location.

After Cupples died in 1912, the Mansion remained vacant until the university purchased it.

Today, the public can enjoy Cupples Mansion as an art gallery/museum.

Kansas City Workhouse

It’s the perfect good news/bad news scenario: The good: you get to live in a castle!

The bad: It’s a workhouse.

The Kansas City Workhouse houses a kitchen, a guard room, a dining hall where concerts were held frequently, bathrooms with king-sized bathtubs in two stories of Roman-influenced architecture — plus towers.

The Kansas City Workhouse was initially built as a jail in 1897, lodging petty offenders, and part of their sentence included work, hence the name.

It ceased functioning as a correctional facility in 1924.

Wallace House (Dupont) Castle

The historic Wallace House Castle was initially constructed of red brick.

When the house was relocated in 1908, the exterior was sheathed in cut limestone, enhancing its castle-like vibe. 

Wallace House now overlooks a spectacular view of the Kansas City Skyline and the forested area around the house.

Wallace House Castle is currently a private residence.

However, the house is periodically open to visitors on specific days.

Kennett’s Castle, AKA Selma Hall

The name of Kennett’s Castle was acquired when, according to legend, folks called Selma Hall a castle thanks to its square, four-story gun tower and gray limestone walls.

Constructed in 1854 for $125,000, this 19th-century Italian-inspired castle rests on roughly 2,400 acres of land on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, which, along with the landscaped grounds, can be admired from the castle’s terraces.

Many a Missouri castle connoisseur considers it among the finest antebellum residences in Missouri, with its nine bedrooms, six bathrooms, golf course pool, tennis court, and hiking/biking trails.

The castle is open to visitors. 

Sky High Castle

Sky High Castle has long enthralled palace aficionados.

The European-style stone castle boasts hand-hewn beams, a massive stone fireplace, cast-bronze ceiling fans, large turret and battlements, rock wall terraces, and a breathtaking view of the Shoal Creek Valley.

Sky High Castle is believed to have been constructed from 1927 –to 1930.

Because the castle and the cliffs where it rests are the same color stone, the castle appears hewn directly from the surrounding rock.

Ha Ha Tonka Castle (Ruins)

Robert McClure Snyder started building the Ha Ha Tonka castle in 1905.

The name comes from the local Native Americans who referred to the area as “ha ha tonka,” meaning “laughing waters.”

Although Snyder died in a car crash in 1906, his sons completed the castle’s construction in the late 1920s, where it found use as a hotel until gutted by a fire in 1942.

The State of Missouri purchased the grounds and castle in 1978.

Ha Ha Tonka Castle, a majestic ruin, is now integrated into the Ha Ha Tonka State Park and is open for tours. 

The Parkhurst Castle 

Considered by castle enthusiasts to be among the most gorgeous of the Missouri palaces.

Parkhurst Castle possesses seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a grand parlor, and magnificent staircases, resting upon 49 acres of land with a private pond and spectacular views. 

Wood-Smith Castle

Situated on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi, the abandoned Wood-Smith castle rests on 420 acres overlooking the Mississippi River.

The castle has a modest twenty rooms, eleven bathrooms, two swimming pools, a billiard room, sunken gardens, towers, a stable, a golf course, tennis courts, and last but not least, a waterfall fountain.

Construction on Wood-Smith Castle began in 1914.

George F. Woodsmith, an engineer, built the castle at the pinnacle of his prosperity.

Unfortunately, Wood-Smith went broke in the ’20s stock market crash when the castle was still unfinished. 

Iron-Hill Castle

Frank DeClue built Iron-Hill Caste in the 1950s by hand — his own, transporting each stone home on a trailer bed from a river, creek, or quarry.

When his wife passed on in the early ’80s, DeClue stopped working on the castle and never completed the interior before his death in 2008.

Tiffany Castle

Tiffany Castle combines secluded serenity with proximity to Downtown Kansas City.

Located overlooking the Missouri River, the two-story property is concrete and wood constructed, with stone walls, and possesses stunning views; inside, it features intricate woodwork, beveled and stained glass, and a fine stone fireplace.

Erected in 1908 by author and oculist Dr. Flavel B. Tiffany, Tiffany Castle includes six bedrooms and two spiral staircases leading to the tower.

The castle is privately owned and open for tours.

Chateau Charmant

Taj Mahal, move over, there’s a new palace in town, complete with another love story.

It was in 2003 that Robert Palmer gave his wife, Bonnie, a sketch of a castle-like home, with the legend “I want to build you a castle” jotted at the bottom.

From that sketch arose Chateau Charmant.

Unlike many castles, Chateau Charmant is relatively new, yet inspired by a 14th-century French chateau.

The Chateau, primarily built by Robert, Bonnie, and their daughter, Brittany, is the world’s most formidable castle constructed by the most diminutive crew.

Pensmore Mansion

Talk about well-built; the 72,000 square feet concrete-constructed Pensmore Mansion, also known as Chateau Pensmore, rises from the hills South of Springfield near Highlandville.

The five-story castle, which started construction in 2009, contains thirteen bedrooms and fourteen bathrooms and can withstand a bomb blast, a direct hit from an F-5 tornado, an earthquake, and conceivably an extra-terrestrial invasion.

While we’re tempted to mention conspiracy theories positing it as a sort of Illuminati mega-bunker, we won’t. 

Owned by Officer Steven T. Huff, a retired CIA official, the Pensmore Mansion allows tours on designated days.

Miller Mausoleum – Little Castle of the Dead

Some folks would do anything to live in a castle; others to reside in one for eternity.

What looks like an undersized castle outside of Holden is a gigantic mausoleum built at the behest of Joseph M. Miller, a man informed by religious principles and committed to his family being laid to rest in style.

Constructed from 1917 to 1927, this Platonic ideal of a tomb covers approximately 120 acres of land, and the structure is impressive with two stories, four rooms, and possesses a staircase.

In perhaps a tribute to the pharaohs, the Mausoleum holds family artifacts and art, preserving the family’s past.

Carl Cranfill, great-grandson of Joseph M. Miller, is the proud owner of the Little Castle of the Dead, also known as the Miller Mausoleum.

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