One of the things I love about biking vacations with my buddy are when we get off the pedals and walk the path of the tourist. Exploring the areas which we inhabit can be extremely interesting and educational. Loveland Castle (Chateau LaRoche) in Loveland, Ohio, was just that and I have doors to prove it.
First, a little history of its builder, Harry Andrews, from the Loveland Castle website:
“Harry objected to modern warfare – killing at a distance. He preferred sword-to-sword medieval combat. He served as a medic in World War I, contracted spinal meningitis, and was declared dead in 1918. By the time that he was declared undead — six months later — his fiancé had married another man. Harry seemed not to have minded, he stayed in Europe, visiting castles. He veered away from women, period. Having more than 50 marriage proposals later in life, he turned all of them down!”
The building of the castle was an afterthought. First came the Knights of the Golden Trail with Harry as their leader.
“The history of the Knights of the Golden Trail, KOGT, is almost as fascinating as the castle itself. In the early 1920s, one of Harry Andrews’s pet projects was his Sunday School / Boy Scout troop. He had a dozen or so boys that met regularly for Sunday School. One of their favorite things was camping. As it happened, the Cincinnati Business Currier, a local newspaper, had a promotion to establish a greater subscription base. If a person paid for a 6-month subscription in full, they received a plot of land on the banks of the Little Miami River in Loveland, Ohio. One of Harry’s Sunday school pupils had parents that took advantage of the Business Currier’s offer, and they sold the lots to Harry and his knights. Harry and his knights became regular visitors to the banks of the Little Miami. So much so that they took to leaving their gear at the campsite. But, between the elements, the wild animals and even people that stumbled upon their cache, their equipment constantly came out missing, damaged, or unusable. In 1928, the knights had over 100 members and decided they weren’t going to be real knights because they didn’t have a castle. Harry told them if they helped him fetch stone from the river, he would build them a real 10th-century style castle. Those boys started fetching rock, Harry bought the property in 1929 and started building on June 5th, 1929.”
Loveland Castle was Harry’s home until he died in 1981. The castle did have indoor plumbing and was heated with several fireplaces. After Harry’s death, the castle was refurbished and renovated and is now open year around to the public seven days a week for a mere $5.00 entrance fee. Boy Scout troops continue to have overnights here and the castle has become a venue for weddings and social events.
My favorite door in the castle is the last one in the gallery above. A thick parquet door with a million nails that we were not allowed to go through. I can’t imagine how long it took to put that one together. You can see that Harry’s office is “look, but don’t touch,” and the same was true for the kitchen and bathroom.
The rest of the castle is charming, with a castle-themed motif (of course) and the murder holes (not seen here) of my last doors post.
The castle also has a tiered garden off to one side and if you’re thinking of visiting with a bus group, think again. Buses are not allowed as Harry’s hair-pin, curvy road down to the castle is barely car-friendly!
If you’re interested in joining Dan Antion’s Thursday Doors, check out his blog, No Facilities, and the Thursday Door section.
From Dan’s blog:
“This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). If you like, you can add our badge to your post.
Mary J Melange 
So there you still are, discovering America on your bike .. delightful stuff, M-J ! 🙂
There is a lot to discover here, M-R, and I plan to keep at it for as long as I can ride a bike and travel.
Well, seeing as how you’re ageless ..
🙂
Ha! I don’t feel ageless. 🥴
Thanks Mary for sharing this fascinating information and place with us.
It is my pleasure, Sadje. The castle is a lovely place to visit and admire.
Yes not something you’d expect to find in America.
What an interesting history–both Harry and his castle. I like the roundish room with all the skinny windows and framed swords.
Did you look in the brick that says “Look here”?
Yes, I did look. There was a glass bottle or jar inside. Harry must have done that to each and every brick in the castle. There was a section that also had stained glass. I can’t imagine the endless hours it took to build Loveland Castle.
So very cool!! Now I want to visit and find out the story of the look in me brick!
All of the bricks contain something inside to help make it stronger…a metal can, a glass bottle, etc. But you should go if ever in the area. It’s a very unique place!
What a wonderful place and history, Mary. I’ve never heard of this, and one wouldn’t normally expect to find a medieval castle in Ohio. I love the story, and I love the doors. You even have a great ghost doors, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there are also ghosts. I’m sure there are plenty of ghost stories being shared when the scouts camp there.
I have been telling people that if they don’t think Ohio is a beautiful state or that there is nothing to do there, they are sadly mistaken. My biking buddy learned of the castle and I’m glad we took the time to visit. It’s really a fascinating place and amazing that its builder climbed the stairs and took care of it until he was 91. Not sure about ghosts at the castle, but I would think that the nighttime visits would bring them out.
Lovely doors, Mary. The feel is very medieval. I remember stumbling upon Wilson Castle just outside of Rutland, Vermont. I love these lesser known hidden treasures, although both castles are from very different eras.
Thanks Maggie! Sometimes it’s more fun to explore the lesser known treasures rather than the places everyone else goes. Less of a crowd and a more personal experience.
Yes. There is something fulfilling about the road less taken…
How wonderful!
Yes, it was. A fun adventure!
Wow. Modern day Castles always have interesting histories behind them, Mary. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Great doors too. The nailed one gives me the willies though,
Yeah, I wonder about the extensive amount of nails in that door. I don’t get the willies, just wonder why so many and who were they trying to impress? Or maybe they got a good deal on a bushel of nails. 😉
Well that and the fact you weren’t allowed inside…🤔
Beautiful photos. I’ve been to the Loveland Castle, actually. You remind me of how cool that place is.
Thanks, Ally. Glad you were able to visit and enjoy!
What a cool place with a cool name. I was briefly tempted to skip the history and so glad I didn’t! I love that Harry built this castle and why. My parents led a boy scout troop and I know my dad would be impressed. He probably knew about this one. I don’t think about such elaborate castles being built in the US. The door with the puzzle pieces is interesting.
I’m glad you read the history, JoAnna. It is such a unique story of why the castle was built, and how Harry was such a cool guy.