DENVER The Colorado legend who built Bishop Castle 50 miles southwest of Pueblo has died. James "Jim" Roland Bishop was 80 years old at the time of his passing.
His son, Daniel Bishop, said he died early Thursday morning in hospice after battling Parkinsons disease for many years. Jim spent 44 years of his life building the historical landmark, which stands along state Highway 165 in the Rye area in southern Colorado. Denver7 met Jim during the summer of 2023, who at the time, shared his story behind how the castle came about.
I started in 1969. I was 25 years old at the time, said Biship. It started out with me and my dad building a stone house and people said the rock looked more like a castle. Thats how the idea started."
Denver7 asked Jim at the time how one man builds such a thing. Well, you just build it. A cable and two pulleys, Bishop explained, adding he would work "morning till dark."
It was a time-consuming job that didnt leave much time for his family. Bishop also worked for a living at his dads wrought iron shop in Pueblo so he could make ends meet, which is why the castle is filled with wrought iron. The castle also has several stained-glass windows.
The windows on the second level [come] from building materials, like cement, gasoline and sand. They started getting broken, so I quit doing that. So, if you want a window now, you got to do it yourself or hire an artist to do it, Bishop said.
A few years ago, Bishop's son, Daniel, took over the maintenance of the castle as his dad aged. Looking back, Daniel said the castle was his dads obsession.
When he was focused on building castles, he wasnt much fun to go anywhere with because all he wanted to do was be here, said Daniel.
Daniel said a lot of people doubted his dad over the years, but he drowned out the noise.
Whats amazing is he survived all of that because most people would just quit under the pressure. Daniel said.
Decades later, people from all over the world come to the small town of Rye to see the masterpiece Jim spent 44 years working on.
Nobody else has done anything like this in the world. People come from all over the world to see it. Siberia to Ukraine and the furthest has been the Himalayas, said Daniel.
While admission is free, visitors can donate. Daniel hopes to make some small improvements to the structure, but nothing significant.
You wouldnt pick up a paint brush and add to a Picasso, so this is kind of my dads painting. His life's here and I dont want to change it too much, Daniel explained.
As for whether Bishop senior felt like he accomplished his dream?
Yeah, said Bishop.
Since Bishop spent all his time working on the castle, he said he never had the chance to explore the beautiful state of Colorado.
Once Daniel took over, Jims health started to decline, so the local nonprofit Always Choose Adventures, based out of Gilpin County, stepped in to help raise money to get Jim an adaptive wheelchair called the Extreme Motus.
ACA is an organization that helps people of all abilities and ages access the outdoors. Denver7 Gives viewers also stepped in and raised enough money to allow the nonprofit to order not one, but two adaptive wheelchairs. Last summer, Bishop said he got to explore spots like Brainard Lake in Indian Peaks Wilderness and Rocky Mountain National Park for the first time.
Since then, people from near and far have been able to also give the Extreme Motus a try.
We moved to Colorado five years ago because we wanted more of this, said Angela Dugan.
Angela Dugan said her family wanted more of nature, so moving to Colorado turned out to be the best decision they ever made, especially for their 16-year-old daughter, Kaelynn. Kaelynn has cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
Colorado has been a really great place to explore and learn what her body is capable of rather than focusing on all of the things she cant do, said Dugan.
Thats how they came across Always Choose Adventures and learned about the Extreme Motus.
Weve got two of the Extreme Motus wheelchairs here, and anyone that comes to visit our campground can use these Motus completely free of charge, said Always Choose Adventures Founder Chantelle Shoaee.
Thats what Dugan and her family did. They took the Extreme Motus to Great Sand Dunes National Park a few months ago, and some other hikes around the state. Something they wouldnt have been able to do before, but now they can as a family.
There is a lot you arent going to learn at a clinic. Youre not going to learn at a doctors appointment. And this is the version of my kid I want to know, said Dugan.
Id say maybe 20 or 30 people have used the Motus in the last year, said Shoaee.
Twenty or 30 people have used the Motus thanks to the help of Kristy and TJ Cook.
We rented one out for a week and trekked all around Colorado and fell in love with it and started sharing for her and trying to connect her with as many families as we could across Colorado and beyond."
They promote their adventures with the Extreme Motus and beyond on social media through their company, Accessible Adventures, which they said has turned into a full-time job. Their 10-year-old son, Robbie, has cerebral palsy and a severe form of epilepsy, and their 2-year-old daughter, Taylor, has a non-verbal form of autism. The Cooks said getting out in nature is their familys saving grace.
I think its been good for our mental health as caregivers, said Kristy.
You can look at the dark side, you can look at the bright side. We choose the bright side and look at the happy side of things, said TJ.
Dugan said being in Colorado makes all the difference.
Thats been a game changer of being in Colorado. There are so many more people thinking about inclusivity, and universal design and just ways to get more people outdoors and this is the best way to foster that type of curiosity. Having places like this, Dugan explained.
On Thursday, Denver7 asked Daniel Bishop what he thinks about the adaptive wheelchair program now.
I know the adaptive wheelchairs were a big thing for him. He wanted to get around and see Colorado. He got a lot of enjoyment out of the few times he went out there and theyre using them regularly to this day. I know that would make him happy, to know that people are benefiting from it."
He continued, "Its what his life was about. Creating things and giving them away. He wanted to show them what theyre capable of. If they have the will, the desire and the help of God that they, you know, dont have to have much to do great things.
As far as whats next for Bishop Castle, Daniel said hes going to do his best to keep everything exactly the way it is.
Only I want to show up and see more growth. Im not going to necessarily take the castle any higher than that. My main plan is to complete the one shortest tower that the bridge would go to, then my focus is going to be landscaping, windows, doors, stuff like that, said Daniel. I have no real drive to make a job out of it or have deadlines or goals. Im just up here watching people enjoy it for free which I intend to do for as long as I can. Thats what I want to do. Just continue what hes done. It works like this. It might not work like this anywhere else but at Bishop Castle it works. Im afraid if I changed anything up, it just wouldnt work anymore."
Daniel said it's unclear right now what kind of service they'll have for Jim, as he donated his body to science. However, they do plan to hold a memorial at Bishop Castle in the spring and will update plans on the Bishop Castle Facebook page.
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