Valley Center museum celebrates historical Old Castle

By: MELISSA DARCEY - Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 17, 2005 11:12 AM PDT ∞

The Valley Center History Museum has opened a new exhibit of drawings, photos and memorabilia that allow visitors a peek into the history of an authentic 112-year-old stone castle tower.

The tower, which still stands on Old Castle Road, was constructed in 1893 by Isaac Frazee, a noted Southern Californian writer, poet and artist. Today the parapets atop the castle are the only parts of the castle people can see from the road.

Bob Lerner of the Valley Center History Museum was one of the many historians to research the history of the castle and its artifacts.

The museum board members created the idea of displaying the castle's history through surviving artifacts. When asked how they came upon the castle, Lerner replied, "As historians, the museum staff is interested in anything of historic significance in Valley Center. We had some very sketchy data about the castle, but it was not until we discovered the great-grandson of Frazee, Craig Walker, that all the pieces came together."

"For 112 years, there has been this castle and most have not heard of it, but they have probably passed by it without realizing, and it really has a fascinating history," Lerner said in a recent interview. "Frazee wanted to create a replica of an ancient 12th-century Scottish castle that was the home of his ancestors."

In order to re-create the design, he patterned his castle after Dunnottar Castle, near Aberdeen in Scotland, and hired a Scottish stonemason to help build it. Amazingly, Frazee and his one helper built the 30-foot-tall turret on a cliff (the castle residence was added later by Frazee's descendants). The tower had three levels and walls 3 feet thick.

Frazee originally named his castle Warland to acknowledge the infamous Moosa Canyon Massacre, a gunfight that occurred nearby in 1888.

"At the time of the massacre, Frazee and his family were living nearby along the San Luis Rey River. The sheriff knew Frazee was an artist and asked him to come to the crime scene to draw images of the murders. That is how Frazee discovered the canyon where he would build his family home," Lerner said.

Frazee later changed the name to Woreland Castle and today it is called Old Castle Ranch.

The castle is still used as a private residence today. After Frazee lived in the castle, industrialist Carl Lien and his wife, Orpha, acquired the property in the 1950s. They incorporated a larger home into the turret and divided the property among their children. Daughter Marcia Lien Wristley and her husband have lived there since 1987.

Although Walker, Frazee's great-grandson, never lived in the castle himself, he had a collection of family photographs and memorabilia related to the castle's history.

"Walker is the family historian and gave us access to everything the family had ever collected about the castle and the family. He has permitted the Valley Center museum to exhibit many mementos and artifacts, including numerous original watercolors of the castle painted by Frazee ... in the 1890s."

There will also be on display dozens of photos taken from the beginning of construction to its completion, including the original blueprint, an 1890 drawing by Frazee that he used to construct the castle. The museum has also collected family photos, documents and memorabilia. Some of the artifacts date back more than a century.

To welcome visitors to the museum, a knight stands guard at the door.

"The current owners of the castle home have lent us their knight in shining armor ---- a suit of armor similar to the ones introduced in the 15th century," he said.

The museum members hope that visitors take with them information about the castle and its history seen through the original artifacts.

"Visitors will be astonished to discover that one man with one helper could have built a 30-foot-tall castle turret on a cliff. Motorists who have long been curious about the parapets atop the castle will finally see the full picture," said Lerner.

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