GIDDENS CASTLE

I received E-Mail that said:

We are trying to find out information on a old castle that use to stand on a place we all knew as Castle Hill. The road that lead up to the castle, (that was supposed to have been constructed of wood, and had burnt down) was called Giddens Hill, the man who had built and lived in the castle. Mr. Giddens but I don't know his first name. The land actually sits on the side of the road that is Princeton Louisiana, and is close to Fillmore Cemetery. Our mother use to have a picture of this castle , but she loaned it to neighbor and never got the picture back.

The man , Mr. Giddens was supposed to also have invented the first T.V. but did not get credit for this as someone stole is idea??, don't know how much of this info is fact or fiction , any info would be greatly appreciated.

On 5-30-05, I received E-Mail that said:

While searching for a little known, early 60's race track, I came across your site. I found this interesting bit by coincidence when cross referencing pieces of info.

This link has a photo and gives some brief history about the castle. http://www.earlytelevision.org/w5xa.html

This link goes to a topographical map. Approximately in the center of the map you'll see Eastwood. Just east of Eastwood you'll see Giddens Hill and radio towers. I assume that's where the castle was located. The race track I was trying to find is located right below the word "Hill". The is a small body of water located just inside the south end of the track. There are also links on this page for aerial photos in b&w and color. You can also zoom in pretty close. http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=14&Z=15&X=140&Y=1124&W=3&qs=%7cBossier+City%7cla%7c

On 3-25-11, I received e-mail that said:

I have recently moved to Haughton, Louisiana and was interested in finding the location of Giddens Castle mainly because of the historic significance of being the location of the first television station (W5XA) in the Shreveport, LA area. With a little bit of research, I found that the castle was located at 32°33'18.9" North Latitude, 93°31'49.4" West Longitude (Google Earth Coordinates) in a place that is now an RV park called "Hilltop Campgrounds" The castle has been gone for some time but there is now a gazebo sitting at the approximate location. It is on private property but the campground owner will allow you visit the site and will welcome you if you are in an RV.

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