Most women start out dreaming one day that they’ll become a princess. Now, for at least a day, that dream can be made a reality.
It doesn’t require a trip to Europe either or a certain Magic Kingdom found in Florida.
No, head to Whipple in Southeastern, Ohio; head out Scott Ridge Road, and there you will find “Lord” Bill Grizer, owner and proprietor of Grizer Castle.
This Norman-style castle offers a unique event center to host a truly memorable and one-of-a-kind experience. Weddings, parties, banquets, even proms, all are welcome events to be held inside Grizer Castle.
Now that the pandemic restrictions are finally easing, the once quiet halls of Grizer are bustling with activity.
Opened in late 2019, Grizer Castle played host to a few smaller events before COVID forced the closing of the facility to public use.
For Bill Grizer, who spent 30 years saving both money and materials to one day fulfill his lifelong dream of owning a castle, and then spent multiple years building it himself, along with family and friends; having to wait to truly share it with the world was agonizing.
“Last year, it was horrible. You get all excited about opening and then nothing,” Grizer said. “It’s like being told when you turn 16, ‘Here are the keys to a brand new ’69 Camaro. It’s yours. You can sit in it. You can tell your friends about it. But you can’t drive it.’
“Everything was going well when we opened, and then it all shut down, all the bookings; people had to cancel or postpone.”
One of the more recent bigger events Grizer Castle hosted was Monroe Central High School’s prom. Grizer called it an amazing event and was incredibly complimentary about the Seminoles’ students who attended.
Thankfully the wait is over, and groups are starting to make reservations for the castle. Grizer has already received a rental request for 2025.
“I was impressed with all those kids from Monroe,” Grizer said. “There was no trash on the grounds, nothing written in the bathroom. I told the principal and teachers they are all welcome back anytime they want to. I was impressed. You couldn’t have asked for a better group of students.”
Judging by how well the event was received, the feeling was likely mutual. Imagine, in 2021, getting to have your prom inside an actual castle. Not only that, but being charged only $10 a couple to enter.
As told, owning a castle was Grizer’s dream, and he wants to share it with everybody. He admitted he’s been told by more than a few businesspeople that he could—and should—be charging significantly more rental and usage fees for the castle. But that’s not why he built it, and that’s not his end game.
From Humble Origins
But why a castle?
“When I was a kid, I watched the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and dreamed about having that castle,” Grizer said. “I couldn’t have that one, but I could build one just like it. So, I spent my entire life, from the time I was 8 years old, preparing to build a castle.”
When Bill noticed someone tearing down a structure, he stopped to inquire about obtaining some of the concrete block. This started when he was young, and people, half-jokingly, would tell Bill to help himself. And he did.
As he grew older, the practice continued. He’d take pallets and truckloads full and kept building up his supplies for the inevitable building day that, at one point, probably only he truly believed would happen.
But it did. Some men treat their wives like a queen. Grizer’s husband literally transformed her into one.
“Most men tell their wives they will treat them like a princess and build them a castle,” Grizer said. “My family nor I have the hundreds of millions to buy a castle, so I prepared, saved, and spent 30 years gathering supplies.’
Grizer spearheaded the building phase as well. A licensed contractor, he and his family set to work building the castle from the foundation up. It took six years to complete
There are approximately 46,000 blocks of concrete used in the construction. He estimated the group laid around 1,000 per day. By the end of the first month, working primarily on the weekends, the Grizers had put down between 8-10,000 blocks.
He said his kids kept mentioning that it was taking forever, but he retorted that, “We only had another 36,000 to go.”
The Work Continues
While the castle has hosted a number of events already, Grizer is truly excited for the first time it can host a “royal wedding.”
It’s on the horizon. The bride will be dressed like a princess, along with her ladies in waiting. The groom can choose from an English or German style suit of armor, with his knight groomsman holding their swords up in an archway that the bride-to-be can walk under.
It will give a true renaissance feel and add and air of magic to the event.
But it doesn’t just stop there. Additions are in progress to the castle and the grounds. There will soon be bedrooms available so that any in the wedding party wishing to stay the night to complete the experience may do so. The Grizers themselves will live out their days in the back tower. This too is now their home.
Grizer hopes to one day complete a medieval-style village surrounding Grizer Castle. There’s already a forge that his sons perform blacksmithing on.
The hope is to allow visitors to participate in candle making or even sword making, which naturally will be a longer project stretched out over a few weeks. Mrs. Grizer does mosaic art and will be offering a stained-glass class. A number of different classes will be held, including making foods with a 12th-13th century theme. Authentic medieval baking methods will be used, naturally.
There will eventually be a park with a 3-mile walking trail taking visitors around the castle grounds. They can stop and visit, have a picnic with their family, and take in the experience.
Again, Grizer isn’t out to get rich from realizing his dream. He wants families to be able to stop by and enjoy themselves without breaking the bank.
He and his wife have six children—three boys and three girls—so they know how quickly even one afternoon of family fun can run up the costs.
Speaking of things for children to do, Grizer and his wife would like to offer a chance for young boys and girls to progress along their medieval life path.
“The boys could start off as a page and work their way to squire and up to knight, doing little tasks along the way and earning check-offs to show their progression,” Grizer said. “The same with the girls, working their way up to princesses”
As events and classes like this are held, information will be posted on the castle’s Facebook page linked above.
Grizer and his family invite one and all to stop by and visit, and they welcome all those hoping to add a little medieval flare and pageantry to some of life’s most special occasions to call and make a reservation.
