Stokes Castle in Austin, Nevada

Stokes Castle in Austin, Nevada

Stokes Castle is an interesting piece of Nevada history.  Construction was begun in 1896, patterned after a tower outside Rome, and built from native granite and set with rock wedging and clay mortar.  Ancestors of the men who built it still reside in Austin and are happy to share their family histories.  Anson Phelps Stokes, miner, banker, and railroad magnate, intended the structure to serve as his summer home, but sadly, the Gold Rush, which had seen Austin swell to a population of nearly 10,000, was coming to an end.  The family occupied the Castle only once, for a period of about a month during the summer of 1897 before selling out of the Nevada mining industry and moving on, never to return.  Today, Austin is classified as a "living ghost town,"  with a population of approximately 340 people.  In addition to Stokes Castle, there are three beautiful churches and countless old buildings filled with character.  Historians consider it one of the best examples of an early Nevada mining town.  It is well worth the stop, and you will find lots of great photo opportunities.