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Castle new owners offer a unique wine and dining experience in the historic caenen castle. stor y by Beth Kor negay
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hen dairy farmer Remigius ‘Remi’ Achille Caenen immigrated from Belgium to the Shawnee area at the turn of the 20th century, he moved into an area with plenty of wideopen spaces. Caenen decided land located at today’s 12401 Johnson Drive would be the perfect place to build a home for his family. He used native Kansas limestone from the property to build what would be known to locals as Caenen Castle. Said to be modeled after a French or Belgian castle, Caenen cut all the stone by hand. He also built a home across the street made of leftover stone. Caenen spared no expense in his attention to detail and luxury; the home contained a full basement and 10 bedrooms. Records also show Caenen installed a “lighting plant” to produce gas for the interior lights by using water and calcium carbide shards in addition to
p h o t o g r a p hy b y S a r a h R e e v e s
a very modern interior water system. The total cost of the home was $10,000, and it was completed in 1907. Members of the Caenen family lived in the castle until 1925 when it was rented to a Dr. Elstone, who turned it into a nursing home for the mentally ill, calling it the Monrovia Rest Home. Through the years, the building has been used as a night club, a restaurant, and a haunted house Halloween attraction. Most recently, Renee Kelly operated Harvest restaurant in the castle after the building was renovated from 2003 to 2005. It was added to the Register of Historic Kansas Places in 2006. When Kelly closed her restaurant in 2017, the castle sat vacant with a for-sale sign in the front yard. With no buyers beating down the heavy oak doors with offers, the building and its contents went up for auction in 2019.
