{"id":286614,"date":"2026-05-10T06:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/286614\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T06:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:03:29","slug":"an-alligator-filled-moat-guards-this-medieval-castle-in-a-tiny-texas-town-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/286614\/","title":{"rendered":"An alligator-filled moat guards this medieval castle in a tiny Texas town"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>BELLVILLE, Texas (Amazing America) \u2014 Nestled in the countryside just outside Bellville, Texas, lies a hidden gem fit for royalty.<\/p>\n<p>Newman\u2019s Castle is a delightfully eccentric experience and completely unlike anything else in the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n<p>Having lived in Italy and Spain in his early 20s, Mike Newman was heavily inspired by European castles, and in 1998, he began constructing a castle of his own, making it his home in 2007.<\/p>\n<p>What started as a personal passion project eventually became a public attraction.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years, Newman transformed the property into a fantasy-like fortress using traditional medieval architectural concepts. It features a working drawbridge, a moat that allegedly has alligators, towers, a banquet hall, a dungeon and more.<\/p>\n<p>The castle has also become a popular venue for weddings, Renaissance-style events, photoshoots, and private parties.<\/p>\n<p>Tours are typically offered six days a week. Tickets are required and can be purchased at <a href=\"http:\/\/newmanscastle.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">newmanscastle.com<\/a>. Is one day not enough? Overnight stays are available too!<\/p>\n<p>Mike Newman passed away in 2024, but his nephew Chad Welty took over operations for the castle, ensuring that Mike\u2019s legacy endures.<\/p>\n<p>Bellville, a small town with just about 4,200 residents, sits right between Austin and Houston. It\u2019s also home to Newman\u2019s Bakery, which was owned by Mike Newman and makes for a great post-castle pit-stop.<\/p>\n<p>We know there are plenty of other stories of unique landmarks and cultural experiences in all corners of the USA, and we\u2019re making it our mission to find and highlight them. If you know of one, we&#8217;d love to hear about it. Send a DM to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/amazingamericatv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@amazingamericatv<\/a> on Instagram!<\/p>\n<p>For more amazing stories, click <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingamericaqrcode.my.canva.site\/copy-of-amazingamerica-tv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a> to subscribe to Amazing America on YouTube and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BELLVILLE, Texas (Amazing America) \u2014 Nestled in the countryside just outside Bellville, Texas, lies a hidden gem fit&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-286614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}