Guide Rankings Geography Updated May 28, 2026

Castles by State

Hearst Castle on its hilltop in San Simeon with twin towers, white walls, and terraced gardens

Castles by State

Ranking - Geography

Hearst Castle is the most visited castle-style landmark in the United States and one of the clearest visual symbols of the country's mansion-as-castle tradition.

Quick Answer

Castles by State

  1. 1

    Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York, built in 1838, is the oldest castle-style landmark in the United States on this list. Eighteen states have a notable castle or castle-style building; 32 states have no documented example.

  2. 2

    North Carolina's Biltmore Estate (1895) is the largest castle in America at 178,926 square feet across 250 rooms. Hearst Castle in California (1919) is the most visited, drawing roughly 750,000 visitors per year as a California State Park.

  3. 3

    Three American castles were built entirely by one person working alone: Coral Castle in Florida (Edward Leedskalnin, 1923-1951), Loveland Castle in Ohio (Harry Andrews, 1929-1981), and Bishop's Castle in Colorado (Jim Bishop, 1969-present, still under construction).

Map

Castles in the United States by State Map

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New York's Lyndhurst (1838) and Georgia's Barnsley Gardens (1846) are the oldest on the map. Colorado's Bishop's Castle (1969) is the newest and still under active construction. Thirty-two states have no documented castle-style landmark.
Castles in the United States by State Map
Rank State built
1 New York 1,838
2 Georgia 1,846
3 Rhode Island 1,852
4 Hawaii 1,882
5 Maine 1,886
6 North Carolina 1,895
7 Pennsylvania 1,908
8 Washington 1,908
9 New Hampshire 1,913
10 California 1,919
11 Connecticut 1,919
12 Michigan 1,922
13 New Jersey 1,922
14 Florida 1,923
15 Massachusetts 1,926
16 Ohio 1,929
17 Arizona 1,930
18 Colorado 1,969
19 Alabama —
19 Alaska —
19 Arkansas —
19 Delaware —
19 Idaho —
19 Illinois —
19 Indiana —
19 Iowa —
19 Kansas —
19 Kentucky —
19 Louisiana —
19 Maryland —
19 Minnesota —
19 Mississippi —
19 Missouri —
19 Montana —
19 Nebraska —
19 Nevada —
19 New Mexico —
19 North Dakota —
19 Oklahoma —
19 Oregon —
19 South Carolina —
19 South Dakota —
19 Tennessee —
19 Texas —
19 Utah —
19 Vermont —
19 Virginia —
19 West Virginia —
19 Wisconsin —
19 Wyoming —

New York's Lyndhurst (1838) and Georgia's Barnsley Gardens (1846) are the oldest on the map. Colorado's Bishop's Castle (1969) is the newest and still under active construction. Thirty-two states have no documented castle-style landmark.

Castles by State Table

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Print-ready table — Castles by State

Oldest Castles in the United States

Lyndhurst mansion in Tarrytown, New York, with its gray stone Gothic Revival facade and pointed towers above the lawn
Lyndhurst rises over a 67-acre Hudson River estate in Tarrytown, one of the most complete Gothic Revival country houses in the United States.

Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York, completed in 1838, is the oldest castle-style landmark in the United States. Designed by architect Alexander Jackson Davis for General William Paulding in the Gothic Revival style, it predates the next oldest U.S. castle — Barnsley Gardens in Georgia (1846) — by eight years. Lyndhurst later passed to railroad magnate Jay Gould and is now managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Three castles on this list predate the Civil War: Lyndhurst (1838), Barnsley Gardens (1846), and Chateau-sur-Mer in Newport, Rhode Island (1852). All three are now open to the public. Iolani Palace in Hawaii (1882) stands apart as the only former royal residence on U.S. soil; it served as the Hawaiian Kingdom's official palace and later as the territorial capitol building for 76 years.

Most Famous Castles in America to Visit

Hearst Castle on its hilltop in San Simeon with twin towers, white walls, and terraced gardens
Hearst Castle crowns a hill above the Pacific at San Simeon and entered public ownership in 1958 when the Hearst family donated the estate to California.

Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California, built starting in 1919, is the most visited castle in the United States, drawing roughly 750,000 visitors per year as a California State Park. Its 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens were designed by architect Julia Morgan for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst over 28 years of construction. North Carolina's Biltmore Estate (1895) is the largest at 178,926 square feet across 250 rooms and remains privately owned by Vanderbilt descendants.

Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam, Connecticut (1919) draws visitors to see the 24-room fieldstone castle built by actor William Gillette, best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. Hammond Castle in Gloucester, Massachusetts (1926) was built by inventor John Hays Hammond Jr. around a 10,000-pipe organ and a collection of medieval and Renaissance artifacts.

Self-Built Castles in the US

Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida, with massive hand-carved limestone walls and sculpted stone features
Coral Castle is a limestone sculpture garden in Homestead that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Three documented U.S. castles were built entirely by a single person without professional construction crews. Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida (1923-1951) was carved from over 1,100 tons of coral rock by Edward Leedskalnin alone, using methods he never disclosed. Loveland Castle in Loveland, Ohio (1929-1981) was constructed from Miami River stones by Harry Andrews over 50 years. Bishop's Castle near Beulah, Colorado, started in 1969, is still being built by Jim Bishop and is free and open to the public.

Quick Answers

What state has the most castles?
New York has the greatest concentration of castle-style landmarks in any single state. Notable examples include Lyndhurst in Tarrytown (1838), Boldt Castle on Heart Island (1900), Oheka Castle in Cold Spring Hills (1919), and Bannerman Castle on Pollepel Island (1901).
What is the oldest castle in the United States?
Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York, built in 1838, is the oldest castle-style landmark in the United States. It predates the next oldest documented U.S. castle, Barnsley Gardens in Georgia (1846), by eight years.
What is the largest castle in America?
Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, is the largest castle in the United States at 178,926 square feet across 250 rooms. Built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt, it remains the largest privately owned house in the country.
Is Hearst Castle the most famous castle in America?
Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California (1919) is among the most visited, drawing roughly 750,000 visitors annually as a California State Park. Biltmore Estate in North Carolina receives about 1.5 million visitors per year, making it the most-visited private home in the United States.
Which states have no castles?
Thirty-two states have no documented castle-style landmark. These include Texas, Illinois, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and most states in the Great Plains and Mountain West.
Is Bishop's Castle in Colorado real?
Bishop's Castle in Beulah, Colorado, is a real ongoing construction project started in 1969 by Jim Bishop. He has built it alone using stone from the surrounding San Isabel National Forest, without permits or outside funding. It is free and open to the public.

Methodology

This list includes one notable castle or castle-style landmark per state where one exists. 'Castle-style' includes Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival, Norman, Chateauesque, and similar architectural styles that visually resemble a European castle. Purely military fortifications, missions, and plantation houses without castle architectural elements are excluded. Year built reflects the year construction began or substantially commenced.

Sources

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.
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