Floyd "Junior" Banks full scale castle walls – made almost entirely by working alone using salvaged materials – have been under continuous construction since 1993. Behind the two castle walls, most rooms are open to the sky, and none are habitable. The structure is over 20 feet high and around 200 feet long and Junior calls it the Fortress of Faith. He built it by hand using whatever materials he could scrounge, including tree branches, old tires, pieces of railroad track, and 10,000 marbles!
Complete with a torture chamber and fireplace, Junior believes that images representing divine messages are embedded in the seemingly accidental surface textures of his concrete construction work. His belief that God is leaving messages on its walls in the form of pictures has been well-documented, including a detailed article in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, found here.
Junior lives nearby, welcomes visitors, and spends the bulk of most days happily giving tours or working on the castle. Admission is always free and you are welcome there any day of the week until 10pm. Junior is an interesting man, to say the least; hope you get to meet him and enjoy checking out this amazing place!
Directions: Lee Shirley Rd, Greenback, TN Directions: US Hwy 411 either one mile south of the stoplight for Hwy 95, or 3.5 miles north of the bridge across the Little Tennessee River. Turn east onto Trigonia Rd (no stoplight). Drive three-quarters of a mile. Turn left onto Lee Shirley Rd. Drive a quarter-mile. As you crest a hill, turn right onto a little driveway-size gravel road. The castle is at the road's end.
Once you park head towards the left side of the castle. Just follow the trail. There will be all kinds of rooms to check out. This geocache is located in one of the the rooms.
Enjoy, happy hunting and good luck spilling your ink. Cache ya later!
Ol'Fogie
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