Scotty's Castle

Scotty (Walter Scott) claimed to have found a secret gold mine in Death Valley.  He promoted the mine across the country and got some people to invest in his mine.  One of his investors was Albert Johnson who wanted to see the mine he had invested in.  Scotty arranged for him to visit the valley in July, then took him all over the place by mule, but never to the mine.  Albert Johnson soon realized that the mine was a hoax, but found the desert climate gave him relief from an old back injury, and became friends with Scotty.

Albert Johnson and his wife built a summer home near the valley, and went allong with Scotty when Scotty told people that it was his home, with a gold mine in the basement.  It came to be known as Scotty's Castle.

A survey conducted by the government after construction of the Casle had begun, showed that a previous survey was in error and Johnson did not own the land on which he was building.  Construction was stopped until the issue was settled, and the depression intervened.  The castle was never finished.  This is a view of the unfinished swimming pool.