January 5, 2005 - Indio, CA (Death Valley)
Besides being a rather interesting place, the story behind it is equally interesting. Walter Scott (Death Valley Scotty) was basically a con man. A good natured sort, but still a con man. He was flamboyant and outrageous. Born in Kentucky in 1872, he ran away from home as a young boy and went to work with his brother on a ranch in Nevada. He came to Death Valley and fell in love with the place immediately which for us is easy to understand. It's a place full of surprises and opportunities. In 1890 Buffalo Bill Cody hired him to work for him as a cowboy, and Scotty did this for 12 years. Then he came into his own. He convinced several wealthy businessmen that he had a claim to a gold mine worth a fortune in Death Valley. He agreed to split the profits, provided they first offered enough money to extract the ore. He never produced any ore, much less gold, but would show up at the finest hotels and saloons of California and Nevada spending like there was no end to his money. One of his benefactors was a man named Albert Johnson, a millionaire insurance man. The contrast between the two was profound. Mr. Johnson was a well-respected and religious man, and Scotty was quite the opposite.
After giving Scotty thousands of dollars for the gold mine efforts with no results, Mr. Johnson decided to visit Death Valley and take a look at the mine. Scotty was unflappable, and took Mr. Johnson on a grueling trek by horseback through Death Valley. He figured a few days in the desert would be too much for Mr. Johnson who's health was bad following a near-fatal train wreck in his youth. Surprisingly, Mr. Johnson loved Death Valley so much that he stayed nearly a month; and his health dramatically improved in the sunny dry climate. Although he never saw Scotty's mine, Mr. Johnson didn't seem to care. He'd found riches far greater than gold. Besides, he had taken a liking to the eccentric desert rat. The two men began a lifelong friendship that would change the history of Death Valley forever.
Over the next 10 winters, Mr. Johnson often returned to Death Valley. His wife Bessie began to accompany him and Scotty on their desert expeditions. Mrs. Johnson suggested that they build something more comfortable for their vacations, an idea that lead to the construction of the Death Valley Ranch in the late 1920's. Recognizing a good story, Scotty told everyone that he was building the two million-dollar home with the profits from his gold mine. When questioned by anybody, Mr. Johnson actually agreed that Scotty owned the place, and passed himself off as Scotty's banker. Towards the end of the Depression, the Johnson's retired to Hollywood, and often visited the Castle, which had become a popular hotel and tourist attraction due in large to the fame of Death Valley Scotty. The Johnson's died in the 1940's and having no heirs, willed the Castle to their charitable organization called the Gospel Foundation with the provision that Scotty could live there the rest of his life, which he did. In 1970 the Gospel Foundation sold the Castle to the National Park Service. Maybe that's what Scotty had in mind when he proclaimed: "The Hall of Fame is going up. We're building a Castle that will last at least a thousand years. As long as there's men on earth, likely, these walls will stand here." (Note: Most of this story is taken from the little "Castle Chronicle Quarterly, October-December 1939").
The fountain sort of comes out of nowhere and goes nowhere, but is refreshing nonetheless. One of the reasons this area was chosen as a construction site was the presence of a natural spring, a quite valuable commodity in the desert. Our tour guide (taking the tour is the only way to get into the buildings), Glenn, was in 1939 character, and could only answer questions from that perspective. Barb forgot for a moment and asked if the clock tower had chimes and did they work. Glenn said they sure did, at least they did yesterday. Of course, the chimes no longer were working. The Castle expanded as the popularity of the place expanded. To our right is the original Death Valley Ranch, and to the left are guest rooms.
No expense was spared to make this place luxurious. These last two pictures are from Scotty's room, just off the main living room. He stayed here seldom, preferring his cabin a couple of miles away. Apparently Mrs. Johnson allowed no drinking in "her" home, and Scotty was more comfortable in his cabin doing what he enjoyed doing. He would stay in the castle when entertaining important guests of course because, after all, this was "his" Castle.
The hat and red ties were Scotty's trademarks. He'd often give a tie away to an admirer. The device on the wall by the door that Glen is standing in is rather interesting. Scotty was always talking about people trying to find out the location of his secret gold mine, and did various things to protect himself. There is a hole in the wall from Scotty's room where he could put a shotgun, and when fired, the shot would scatter both ways and take down any unwanted intruder standing at the door or hiding next to it. Looked plausible to me, but as a skeptic I'd have at least tested it to make sure the shotgun blast wouldn't just take the deflector off the wall and send it flying. The Castle had electricity from the start. Originally, the natural spring was tapped by a Pelton wheel, providing the charging power to a bank of batteries that gave the house electric lights. As the building grew and its electrical demands increased, diesel generators were brought in. They're housed in that building in the foreground of the clock tower.
Rich people buy art. Tapestry in this case, along with lots of paintings. Pretty good furniture, too. Yet, in spite of the money involved, it was a very livable, comfortable place in our opinion. Between the urns that probably held plants of some kind, is a fountain that no longer is in service.
While he seldom joined the guests at the dinner table, Scotty would sit in that little alcove and regale them with stories. The Death Valley Ranch (DVR) had all its own dishes in addition to imported china and other pottery. Glen wasn't sure of the English translation of the Latin carved into the beam over Scotty's alcove, but he thought it might mean something like "Tall Tales Told Here". The leather chair backs are all hand painted and quite intricate.
Nothing but the latest kitchen "gadgets" for these folks. This kitchen was actually not the main kitchen. It was in an adjacent building that suffered a devastating fire a few years ago. This kitchen was more for light snacks. Gas stove, electric refrigerator, electric toaster (a blue one yet), and a wonderfully tiled sink.
The Johnson's suite upstairs. Mrs. Johnson was quite small, and enjoyed her day bed a great deal, and Mr. Johnson's desk was in the same room. We couldn't go into the bedroom (they may be coming home shortly, don't you know), but we could peek into their nice walk-in closet. See that stool in the closet? I trip on one or two that live with us as well. Having a short wife has some challenges attached to it. And then the view from the upstairs balcony. When I was a kid we had friends who had a somewhat similar arrangement for their home, and I remember my friends and me putting on "shows" for the adults seated in the living room below.
All these are taken from upstairs. The Johnson's personal guests had rooms as lavish as their own upstairs. And then across the courtyard (which never gets direct sunlight - on purpose) to the paying guest rooms.
Some pictures of the guests rooms, and then the ceiling of what might be called the parlor. Music was a big part of the Johnson's lives, and they'd have mini-concerts in this room.
And the console for the huge pipe organ. Bill and Glen are standing on the small stage, behind which are the pipes for the organ. It also has an automatic feature, and we listened appropriately enough to a Christmas Carol that Glenn turned on for us. Wonderful sound -- made the hair on my arms stand up.
The frame is probably worth more than the painting, and there were several stained glass windows in this parlor. And then once again outside we discovered why these little houses were alongside all the fire hydrants. There's a hose and some first aid stuff in there. The solar array is in a bit of disrepair. It was one of those active solar power units, with the hot water being stored in that tall tank Diane is standing by.