Death Valley National Park, California – Scotty’s Castle, a 1920s vacation home for a millionaire couple and the estate of a famous con man, was a top attraction in Death Valley National Park before it was closed by a flash flood. After 10 years of repairs, the landmark now offers limited tours.
The castle on a desert hill tells a quintessential Wild West story of a wily cowboy, gold panning, a shootout with bandits and friendship. It’s a great story – even if some of it is made up.
“The story of how it came to be in this completely unexpected place is what makes it so special,” said Abby Wines, acting deputy superintendent of Death Valley National Park.
The National Park Service has opened the land for limited tours to recover from flooding in the coming months, and is expected to fully reopen a few years from now.
About 1.4 million people visit the park, located in California and Nevada, each year. It is known as The hottest place In North America, it is the driest and lowest place on the continent at 282 feet below sea level.
In its heyday, the castle was “the scene of a huge practical joke on all of America,” Waynes said.
Walter Scott, a con man nicknamed “Death Valley Scotty” and a former rider on the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, dabbled in gold prospecting, convincing people to invest in a fictional gold mine in Death Valley, which he believed none of his investors would dare visit.
He had great success when he met Albert Johnson, who made his money from mines and health insurance. He invested in the mine but traveled to Death Valley to see where his money was going. Scott tried to intimidate the man by starting a gun battle with the bandits.
Johnson realized it was a scam, but he didn’t mind. Waynes said he found the dry desert air good for his health and enjoyed the adventure. He brought his wife Bessie Johnson and they became friends with Scott.
Over the course of nine years, they built a vacation home they called Death Valley Ranch. But Scott lived on that land until his death, and everyone referred to it as Scotty’s Castle. He was buried on top of a hill overlooking the property.
Inspired by the sandstone buildings and red tile roofs of Stanford University, where Bessie Johnson went to school, the castle is decorated with plaster walls, painted tiles, and elaborate woodwork. A music room with an organ player, arched ceilings, and a stained glass window served as a space for entertaining guests. Outside, Scott’s weather vane is on the roof, and a clock tower overlooks the valley. The unfinished set shows the historical point at which Johnson’s works failed and he was unable to resume construction.
Visitors stopped by the castle to see Scott and his famous gold mine when Death Valley became a national monument in 1933. Continuing his charade, he would tell visitors that he built his castle over the mine. Servants entered tunnels beneath the castle and banged on pots and pans, creating the illusion of a working mine, Waynes said. The Johnson family found the story amusing.
When it opened, Scotty’s Castle attracted 100,000 visitors each year. Guides dressed in old costumes toured the castle, which still had its original furnishings.
Interest in the castle remains high. The $35 flood recovery tours scheduled during March have already sold out. The proceeds will go toward completing the restoration, which will cost approximately $90 million.
The repairs, which included a lot of utility work, took longer than expected due to multiple setbacks, including a fire in 2021 and historic rainfall in recent years.
“I think what most people connect with when they come here is the story of the friendship between a wealthy couple, Albert and Bessie Johnson, and Death Valley’s Scotty, the man who began the affair by convincing them to give him money for a gold mine that never existed,” Waynes said.