Loveland's Living Castle
Over the Back Fence Magazine | Spring 2002
A living dream binds the rough-hewn stones of
Chateau La Roche where the Knights of the Golden Trail
(KOGT) still defend its embattle-ments of time.
The towering rock edifice looms above the Little Miami River with
stone spiral stairs, spy holes, heavy wooden barricades and a dank
dungeon. The medieval 16th century replica castle houses all the ingredients
of imagination, history and legend that excite the minds of children
and stir adults to remember their childhood.
KOGT began in 1927 with a small group of young school age boys who
followed the dream of its founding father, Harry Andrews, a local
boys youth leader. Andrews established KOGT because he believed that
chivalry and honor was something that all young men are dubbed a
knight to uphold good deeds and follow icir simple bylaws of the
Ten Commandments.
Chateau La Roche (meaning 'Rock Castle' in French) is also widely known as Loveland
Castle and was built almost entirely by Harry Andrews (born 1890), a World War
I veteran. The castle is a unique part of Cincinnati's history, now a historic
landmark, museum and a tribute to one man's ingenious engineering.
 At the army hospital of the newly constructed (1917) Camp Dix,'New Jersey, where
some 7,000 soldiers died of meningitis, Harry Andrews body laid in the morgue.
Mr. Andrews was declared dead, but before his autopsy the doctors tried the new
drug, adrenaline, which started his heart. Andrews, with only one other soldier,
survived the deadly outbreak, giving the doctors the ability to create antibodies
from their blood to fight the disease.
Shortly after his arduous recovery, he was shipped overseas. He was
stationed in the south of France at the original castle of Chateau La
Roche where he became an army nurse and hospital administrator at the
age of 28.
During WW I, Andrews was actually knighted by a French earl whose son was saved
by Andrews on the front lines. Inspired by European architecture and his dream
of a castle, Andrews set to work (when he returned home) on the construction
of an authentic replica of a Normanesque medieval castle. In 1929, he began building
the 8,000-ton structure of stone on the solid rock base of a hill in Loveland,
Ohio.
"He was ingenious," smiles Joe Carey, a Knight of the Golden Trail
of some 35 years, as he sits at a rough-hewn puzzle table in the main entrance
of the 17-room castle. "Harry was like a human computer; he had an IQ of
189, spoke seven different languages and had a photographic memory."
 Admiring the rough stone interior wall Joe continues, "This is the only
castle like it in the United States. It is an authentic castle built for defense
like the Norman Castles in Europe before the time of gunpowder. What makes this
castle unique is that the main floor is German, the second floor is French and
the third floor is English."
Steep spiral stairs lead visitors to chambers of armor, swords and even an actual
wooden throne. The walls are embedded with rocks from over 15 different states
and other countries like Egypt, France and Italy. The dusty floorboards creak
with the weight of visitors where narrow rectangular windows admit light. The
castle becomes a time lock where even the clock in the entry hall runs backwards.
Like King Arthur's wizard, Merlin, who lived his life backwards, the castle remains
steadfast against the progress of time.
As a former engineer for Hamilton County, Andrews utilized his knowledge in
the construction of the castle. The dungeon walls are thirty inches thick surrounded
by thirty inches of soil and then an outside wall. During WW II it became the
official neighborhood bomb shelter and was reported to be the safest one in Ohio.
"He (Andrews) was a prolific writer and kept diaries since he was 19 years
old. He also kept daily ledgers of the work and money that was spent on this
castle," states Joe. From his ledger entries we know that a total of 75,000
five-gallon pails of stone (of which 56,000 Andrews personally carried) were
moved; each pail weighing approximately 65 pounds. In addition 54,000 buckets
of dirt were removed during the construction of the dungeon. Loveland Castle
is a credit to recycling. Visitors brought thousands of one-quart paper milk
cartons, which became forms to make the blocks of the building. Each cement block
had a tin can or old light bulb embedded within it to give a void for expansion
and contraction similar to modern day bricks with holes.
"Authenticity is something that Andrews strived for," Joe
explains as he points to the entrance door to the castle where over
a million visitors have passed through since the castle was opened
to the public. "The door has 2,530 nails in it; that's a quarter
of a mile of nails. It has 238 different pieces of wood, with the
grain of each piece running in a different direction. That is so
that the door can not be split with an ax."
 "As an engineer for the county, Harry got access to two miles of
twisted cable when they did away with the old 1910 Mount Storm Incline
Cable Car. That cable is in every beam, from the dungeon to the top
of the castle," explains Sir Nick (Nicholas Fantetti), a Golden
Knight. Pointing to the huge crossing beams above he says, "Cincinnati
history is literally embedded within this castle."
The castle will also live on in film. Several television shows and movies have
been filmed at the castle using its massive stone as a Hollywood backdrop. The
most recent movie film is Lives No Longer Ours (still in production).
The castle was also the home in one Robin Hood and four Frankenstein movies.
Harry Andrews toiled for 51 years on the castle until he died at the
age of 90 in 1981. The Knights have continued his dream and on Andrew's
100th birthday, they proudly dedicated the newly finished east wing
to his memory. The castle remains a steadfast monument of the Knights
of the Golden Trail whose purpose is to stimulate the character and
knowledge of youth and carry on one man's dream.
For visiting hours, directions or to learn more about Loveland
Castle and the Knights of the Golden Trail, write to Loveland Castle,
12025 Shore Road, Loveland, Ohio 45140-1939 or phone: 513-683-4686
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