"Stokes Castle

Started in the fall of 1896 and completed in June, 1897, by Anson Phelps Stokes, mine developer, railroad magnate and member 

of a prominent eastern family, as a summer home for his sons, principally J.G. Phelps. After the castle (or the tower, as the Stokes 

family always referred to it) was completed, it was used by the family for one brief period in June and July, 1897. Since then, with 

one possible exception, the structure has remained unoccupied.

Stokes Castle is made of native granite, hewn and put in place by the ancestors of people still living in Austin. The huge stones were

raised with a hand winch and held in position by rock wedging and clay mortar. The architectural model for the castle was a 

medieval tower Anson Stokes had seen and admired on an Italian campagna, near Rome. It originally had three floors, each with a 

fireplace, plate glass view windows, balconies on the second and third floors, and a battlemented terrace on the roof. It had 

plumbing very adequate for the times and was sumptuously furnished.

The structure stands as an abiding monument to the local men who built it and to those who helped develop the mines of Austin.

Nevada Historical Marker No. 59"   Text from the Historical Marker