Shea's Castle, Desert stone castle in Antelope Valley, California.
Shea's Castle is a stone fortress with multiple turrets and thick walls built from locally quarried granite in the Mojave Desert. The eight-bedroom residence includes seven bathrooms, a private runway, and sits on 1,500 acres of land.
Richard Peter Shea, a real estate developer from Los Angeles, built this Irish-style castle in 1924 using profits from his urban projects. The structure marks a period when wealthy developers created expansive estates in California's desert landscape.
Native American pictographs appear near natural springs on the grounds, linking this place to earlier inhabitants of the Antelope Valley. These marks from the past connect the modern building to the region's long history.
The property sits about 30 miles north of Santa Clarita in the remote Antelope Valley region. Visitors should plan time to explore the expansive grounds and allow for travel from populated areas.
After Shea's time, cowboy entertainer Roy Rogers used the grounds to train his famous performance horse, Trigger. This unexpected connection to Western entertainment adds an interesting layer to the property's history.
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