At the bottom of a steep yet very narrow and winding road in the town of Loveland, Ohio, stands a medieval castle named Chateau Laroche (aka Loveland Castle & Museum). Built by Harry Andrews, a former World War I army veteran, who acquired the land in 1927 and began construction in 1929, it was a labor of love.
Andrews carried tons of stones in an estimated 56,000 five-gallon pails from the Little Miami Riverbed upon which the Castle sits and made bricks by pouring concrete into old milk cartons.
It was during his tour of duty in Europe that Andrews fell in love with castles. Upon his return, he formed the Knights of the Golden Trail (KOGT), a group he said would be dedicated to helping save civilization, which he felt had seriously eroded. Their code of conduct is simply to follow the Ten Commandments.
Working on the castle every weekend until he retired in 1955 at the age of 65, and then full-time, the castle was Andrews’ life work.
The castle boasts a great hall, a banquet hall, an armory, a bedroom for Andrews, a watchtower, and a real dungeon with cells. Some of the rooms are full of memorabilia from the dark ages.
Objecting to modern warfare, Harry preferred sword-to-sword medieval combat.
Staircases twist up at sharp angles…
Vegetables and flowers can be grown year-round in the hothouses.
Andrews passed away in 1981 before construction was officially completed due to severe burns he received in a trash fire he set that raged out of control.
The castle is a popular venue for weddings, camping for boys scouts, and paranormal investigators searching for ghosts!
Sherry Lachelle Travels 
Wow, that is a very cool castle, what a massive piece of work that must have been. Lovely to see someone living (in) their dream !
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Thanks Phil! He died back in the 80’s but yes, it’s great to see someone so passionate about something!
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Very interesting Sherry. I didn’t know that you could tour or that it was even open for events. Thanks for the info!
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Hi Gayle – I know, I didn’t either. There’s so much history here in our own backyard!
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Great post. I did not know about this castle, and fabulous photos!
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Thanks very much!
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Thanks, Sherry, for sharing that interesting story and the great pictures.
Have a wonderful time,
Pit
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Hi Pit, You’re welcome and thank you! I’ll bet it’s hot in Texas right now, I miss it!
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Hi Sherry,
Just now it’s 89 here in Fredericksburg. Max temperatures will be in the lower 90s for the next 10 days, according to the forecast. That’s not too bad, I think. But then, the Texas Hill Country has a more favourable climate than Karnes County, where we used to live before moving here. Also the humidity is less up here. I like that a lot. It’s easier on me on my bicycle rides.
Have a great time,
Pit
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That is nice…it’s about the same here.
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This place is stunning and the photos are amazing!
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Hi Tracy – Thanks very much!!
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Who’d have thunk there’d be a medieval castle in Ohio? This is so cool!
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I know…?? The world is full of surprises!
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Thanks for the story…. beautiful photos….
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Thanks Diana! I may be planning a trip to Italy this coming summer for my travel group!!
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I’d never heard of this castle before. Interesting history and, of course, great photos!
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Thanks Alejandro! i live 15 minutes from it and had never been inside. I dropped my son off 16 years ago at Halloween when they used to have haunted tours.
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I often think, ‘if only castles could talk, what stories would they tell us?’ Thank you for sharing this one. 😊
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Maybe if we listen carefully we’ll hear the voices. 🙂
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Nice to have the inside scoop on the castle’s history.
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Thanks Anneli!
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