The History

The Castle story begins with Remi Caenen who in 1856 at the age of 3 emigrated with his family from Belgium.  Remi was a dairy farmer, who began purchasing farm land in 1879 and through his lifetime bought and sold over 3000 acres in this area.  His wife, Mary, passed away in 1901, leaving him devastated and with nine children ages two to twenty.

In 1905 Remi began the project to build a grand home styled after Chateau Chavaniac in France. Remi hand quarried the stone from his own quarry about two miles from the home site.  A stonemason assisted by several helpers completed the construction work.  When completed in 1907, the home had fourteen rooms, four fireplaces, and two winding staircases.

After 11 years, Remi moved into the smaller stone home he built just North across Johnson Drive, and when the last family members had moved on, Remi leased the “Big House” to Dr. Elstone who operated the Monrovia Rest Home sanitarium here for 25 years.  After Remi’s death in 1949 at the age of 95, the home was sold to the Keating family, who operated The Castle – home cookin’; the first restaurant to occupy the building.  Ever since, the building has been known as The Castle.  A fire destroyed much of the interior in the late 1960’s, when it was the Cock Robin’s Castle Nightclub.  In the 1970’s alterations eliminated the small rooms and resulted in the vaulted ceiling of the dining room.  In the early years of the 21st century, major interior restorations were made, and the commercial kitchen was added when The Castle was operated as an event center and restaurant.  Acknowledging the historical significance, The Castle was added to the Kansas Register of Historic Places in 2006.