A Civil War veteran built a castle out of scraps from the Mississippi River. Then a flood destroyed it

Minneiska, Minnesota, is a small river town on Highway 61 near the Mississippi River, but at one point it was home to a castle.

Here's the story behind "Gray's Crazy Castle" and why its presence is still felt.

"This is probably one of the best places to grow up. We had everything," said Minneiska Mayor Mark Tibor.

Along the river, the railroad and a major roadway sits a town of just over 100 people. You know you're in Minneiska when you see the fish weathervane on top of the hill. A century ago, this was a much larger city before fires and tornadoes took out several businesses.

But Harvey Langseth's business is still going strong. The 92-year-old is a Scandinavian wood carver.

"All by hand and mallet. There are no tools," said Langseth.

He works with a picture of his great-grandfather Hans hovering above him. Hans just happens to be in the Guinness Book of World Records.

"He holds the world record to this day. His beard was 14 feet long," said Langseth.

The beard isn't the only oddity surrounding Langseth.

"Gray started with a very little shack and kept building and building and building over a period of years," said Langseth.

He's talking about Civil War veteran J. Putnam Gray, who in the 1870s began building a castle on the river, using whatever resources the Mississippi provided.

The lumber used to build the castle was essentially driftwood from steamboat wrecks that floated down the river and into Gray's hands.

He added about a section a year, and eventually, Gray's Castle was three stories high. Very few people knew what it looked like inside.

"There have been lots of articles written about it. Lots of pictures taken of it," said Scott Splittstoesser.

Splittstoesser sells antiques next to Langseth's shop. He's created a mini-Minneiska history center. Part of it details how, when river boats came by at night, Gray's daughters would put sheets over their heads and dance around the castle.

"And then the boat would shine the light on it, and they would pretend they were ghosts. And the captain would say, 'Look at the ghosts over there,'" said Splittstoesser.

Even as the town became smaller, the legend grew. Because the castle was made out of scraps, locals called the style "Victorian Packrat." Some, like Langseth, believe the towers Gray built are a nod to Norway.

"It's definitely Scandinavian. In my opinion, of course, and I'm Scandinavian, full-blooded," said Langseth.

And it stood tall for about 30 years.

"He never got to finish it. A flood took it out. I believe he was in his late 80s when that occurred and he believed he didn't have the strength to finish it at the time," said Tibor.

But its presence is still felt. Creative, eccentric and everlasting in this little river town.

"Kind of a sad ending but still, the legend lives on," said Tibor. "I would have just loved to have seen the thing."

Some historians also credit Gray with building the first Ferris wheel. Minneiska is located about 15 miles north of Winona.