By Mike Masterson
Copyright - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Smith Treuer of
Eureka Springs
doesn’t know how
many thousands of
dollars he and his
companion Debbie
Sederstrom together
have shoveled into
“playing in their
sandbox” atop the
bluffs overlooking
Beaver town on the
White River.
But none of
that seems
important.
For Smith, a
former clothing
designer and trader
in elegant paisley
tapestries, the
reward for
seven-years of
human creativity
today rises in
soaring flag-topped
turrets and
impossibly steep
rooflines. Castle
Rogue’s Manor, as
the completed
vision will be
named, for me has
become the most
fantasy-filled
sight in the
Ozarks.
The outgoing
couple, who for 13
years have owned
the popular Rogue’s
Manor Restaurant in
nearby downtown
Eureka Springs and
the Beaver Town Inn
just below their
home, have prompted
endless
conversations with
their castle, the
completed portion
of which is called
the “Gatekeeper’s
Cottage.”
The larger
Paisley Hall
structure of the
castle eventually
will adjoin their
actual
3,000–square-foot
residence on Quarry
Bluff. This vast
hall, which will
house Smith’s
collection of fine
paisley tapestries,
will be twice as
large as the
towering 5,000
square foot
Gatekeeper’s
Cottage. If the
“smaller” completed
version provides
such a dramatic
site from below, I
can imagine how
magical the view of
both structures
will appear.
Today, the
heated foundation
for Paisley Hall is
poured with floor
tubing that will
circulate warmth.
The wine cellar and
subterranean
passages also are
prepared. “Every
castle has to have
a wine cellar and
secret tunnels,”
Smith said. One
hundred tons of
Arkansas Hackett
stones the size of
banquet tables lie
waiting to complete
the fireplace that
one day will help
drive chills from
the great room.
Smith and Walt
Delp, his right
hand and primary
carpenter on the
Gatekeeper’s
Cottage, have
handcrafted every
interior piece of
paneling, bedding
and window sills,
mostly from from
black walnut and
cedar logs
sectioned on site
into hand polished
planks.
The cottage
floor of black
walnut features two
Golden Mean spirals
(symbol of the
universe) with
centers perfectly
aligned with the
tops of both
turret’s flagpole.
Practically every
square foot inside,
including the
massive Redwood
tables, is created
of hand carved
woods. An upper
staircase is
inspired by a
unique ladder in
Thomas Jefferson’s
home.
None of it has
come easy. The
silver-haired Smith
said four of the
nine roofers he was
to interview for
the dangerous and
tedious job of
applying shingles
to the Gatekeeper’s
heavily angled
slopes turned their
truck around and
left when they came
face to face with
the task.
Carefully
crafting the castle
has been like
scratching a
lifelong spiritual
itch for Smith. His
magnificent
obsession with the
bottomless project
has fulfilled an
inherently eclectic
nature by creating
a structure
inspired by fantasy
and imagination
that all can enjoy.
“I appreciate and
respect all
religions of the
world,” he said.
“It’s been a
giant blessing for
me and for Debbie
and I’m just
thrilled to share
it,” Smith added.
He said his best
friend and partner
Debbie has been his
biggest enabler and
supporter from the
planning stages.
Castle Rogue’s
Manor never has
been a commercial
venture. Friends,
family and guests
sometimes come to
stay in one or both
ornate master
bedroom suites
inside the “95
percent complete”
Gatekeeper’s
Cottage. They also
have hosted members
of the state
legislature and
several weddings
and receptions.
“When we
purchased these 20
acres and saw this
bluff that
overlooks the White
River as it begins
to form Tablerock
Lake, I knew it
just screamed for a
castle,” said
Smith, who said
he’s traveled
around the world
five times and was
awed by the many
mountaintop castles
he saw.
“We borrowed
ideas and
influences for the
castle from all
over: Asia, Europe,
Germany, Colonial
America and even
the Tibetan
culture,” he
continued. “ I
suppose you
probably could call
the blended results
you see ‘Strictly
Smith.’”
The castle has
been Smith’s day
job. Most evenings
you’ll find the
pair at Rogue’s
Manor where he is
busy greeting
guests and managing
busywork while she
huddles over pots
and skillets as the
restaurant’s chef.
They met 15
years ago in Oregon
and fell in love.
Back then, he
operated a salmon
fishing lodge and
she was the master
chef at a local
restaurant. Each
agreed they knew
they were meant to
be together the
moment their eyes
met. And today,
this Renaissance
man of the world
and the chef are
together in the
sandbox, patiently
building a
spectacular castle
in the space where
Indians once roamed
an Ozark bluff.
Staff columnist
Mike Masterson is
the former editor
of three Arkansas
daily newspapers.