My husband had just gotten a new job in Cumming, Georgia. My husband traveled almost 40+miles each way from our home. He would tell me several times. "You are not going to believe this house I pass each morning". "It is a Castle". So interested, he drove me out one weekend and this is what we saw. A real stone castle, with a moat, drawbridges, and small gnomes all over their intricate iron gate surrounding the house. We found out this Castle was built 25 years ago by a retired truck driver that told his wife "one day I will build you a castle." Rudy and Ruth Mclaughlin own the property in Milton, Georgia. The house is nestled at the corner of Arnold Mill Rd and Cagle Rd. The moat wraps like a lazy river around the home and becomes wider in the back, more pool like. A small pool house again shaped like a castle holds a hidden diving board and pool equipment. One of the two drawbridges does double duty as a garage door. The exact size of the house is a point of much contention from 1,400-6,600 square feet. The McLaughlin's were unavailable for comment on the size. There is a rumor that the inside is cave- like or subterranean which could make for a much larger house then small outside frame suggests.
Local rumor is that the marble in the house was quarried from Tate, GA and the granite came off of Stone Mountain near Atlanta. Georgia marble has a pink cast color to it and in a certain light the house looks pink. Construction on the house began in 1969, the year I was born and was not completed until 1977. So this property has been a local landmark for some time.
I was born and raised in Georgia and spent much of my life here. While there are many unique and historic homes around Atlanta none offer such a whimsical approach to life. A man's home truly is his castle.
Directions:
From Atlanta: Take GA. 400 north to the Mansell Road exit. Turn left. Follow GA State Road 140 (Mansell Rd.) to Houze Rd. Turn right and continue 4 miles. (Houze Road becomes Arnold Mill Road). .2 miles past the Kroger on the right, the Castle looms on the left.
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