James Oliver Curwood built a writing castle on the Shiawassee River

Curwood Castle looks like a storybook house on the Shiawassee River, but it was built for work. It was the writing studio of James Oliver Curwood, an Owosso native whose adventure stories carried readers into the Canadian North.

The City of Owosso says Curwood was earning his living as a novelist by 1908 and wrote 33 popular adventure novels. During the 1920s, his books were among the most popular in North America, and many became movies. In the middle of that career, he built an unusual room of his own.

Construction started in 1922 and finished in 1923. The studio has a French-chateau look, with a tower over the river. The Owosso Historical Commission says he wrote several of his later works there, using a typewriter in that tower. It was a writing sanctuary, not his family home.

Curwood’s place in Michigan history is not only literary. The Library of Michigan also recognizes his role in the state’s early conservation movement. Its 2006 Literary Landmark at the castle honors both the popularity of his wilderness stories and that conservation work.

Today the castle is a public museum. You can stand near the river and see the tower where he worked, then let the exhibits fill in the rest. Hours and holiday closures change, so plan from the city’s current museum listing.