Pipe Spring banner

A Virtual Tour of Winsor Castle

In 1870, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) began construction of a fortified ranch house at Pipe Spring. The ranch house/fort was designed as both a headquarters for a tithing cattle ranch and as protection from Indian attacks. The Mormon settlers did not particularly fear the Paiute tribe, which at that time inhabited much of the Arizona Strip, but the Navajo, who would cross the Colorado River at low water and raid both the Paiutes and the settlers.

The fortified ranch house was constructed directly over Pipe Spring. The Mormons were only the latest group to be drawn to Pipe Spring, which had attracted people for centuries. The Ancient Puebloans (Anasazi) inhabited the area from approximately 1 A.D. to 1200 A.D. The Paiute tribe replaced the Anasazi, and had lived in the Pipe Spring region for nearly three centuries by the time the European settlers began moving into this area.

This is a floor plan of Winsor Castle with active buttons to link to room descriptions.

To begin your tour, either click on one of the room numbers on the image of Winsor Castle above, or choose a room name from the list at the right. The Winsor Castle tour will take between ten and fifteen minutes to complete. Use the buttons in the right-hand bottom corner of each page to go to the next stop on the tour, to return to the previous stop, or to return to this page. You can always end your tour by clicking on another link at the bottom of each page.

1) The Courtyard
2) The Parlor
3) The Kitchen
4) The Meeting Room
5) The Master Bedroom
6) The Telegraph Room
7) The Middle Bedroom
8) The Southeast Bedroom
9) The Spring Room
10) The Cheese Room