Entry No. 3 — the Grand Junction file — filed under: roadside-oddity
Driggs Mansion Ruins
“His wife lasted only months against the canyon's silence before demanding out.”
Laurence La Tourette Driggs ghostwrote Eddie Rickenbacker's Fighting the Flying Circus and invented the pulp ace Arnold Adair — and in 1918 he paid Grand Junction stonemason Nunzio Grasso to stack Mayflower Canyon sandstone into a six-room, two-fireplace house beneath Thimble Rock. Legend says his wife lasted only months against the canyon's silence before demanding out. Hunters used it, parts got carted off midcentury, and now the Roman-arched shell stands alone in the sagebrush, its entry propped by steel since the 1990s.
The story
Laurence La Tourette Driggs was a man who traded in high-altitude melodrama. He ghostwrote WWI flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker’s memoirs and invented pulp aviator Arnold Adair. In 1918, he decided to build his own fortress of solitude, hiring Grand Junction stonemason Nunzio Grasso to stack local Mayflower Canyon sandstone beneath the sheer granite spire of Thimble Rock in Unaweep Canyon. What Grasso built was a six-room, two-fireplace stone residence with sweeping Roman arches, dubbed "Chateau Thimble Rock."
Living in the throat of an ancient canyon sounds romantic until the silence sets in. Canyon acoustics hit differently when the nearest town is miles of dirt away; local legend says Driggs's wife endured the overwhelming isolation for only a few months before demanding a return to civilization. The family abandoned the property, leaving the sandstone arches to face the desert elements alone.
Over the next several decades, passing hunters camped inside the empty living room, winter freezes cracked the mortar, and midcentury locals gradually carted off chunks of stone for their own projects. By the 1990s, the roof was long gone and the front entryway was on the verge of total collapse, prompting preservationists to brace the main arch with structural steel. Today, the roofless stone skeleton stands on protected ranch land—an odd, Italianate ghost framed against billions of years of Precambrian rock.
What it's like
You’ll spot the ruin right off CO-141 at a signed gravel pullout near mile marker 129, complete with interpretive panels explaining both the house's history and the canyon's inverted drainage. Don't expect to wander through the doorway: the mansion sits on private, conserved ranch land behind a barbwire fence, meaning all your photos must be taken from the overlook. Golden hour is the time to strike, when the setting sun hits the sandstone arches and Thimble Rock directly behind them. One crucial warning: top off your gas tank before leaving Grand Junction or Whitewater, because there isn't a single pump for the next 45 miles until you hit Gateway.
The move: Pull off at the signed Driggs Mansion Overlook near mile 129 on CO-141, frame the arch against Thimble Rock at golden hour, then drive six more minutes south to straddle the divide where Unaweep Canyon splits its water out both ends.
📍 Before you go The viewing spot is a signed pullout on CO-141 near mile marker 129, roughly 35 minutes from Grand Junction via the US-50 junction at Whitewater, with interpretive panels on the house and the canyon's odd geology. The ruin sits on private ranch land under a conservation easement, so photograph from the pullout and do not cross the fence. There is no fuel for the roughly 45 miles between Whitewater and Gateway, so top off in town; pair the stop with the barely-perceptible Unaweep Divide a few miles further south or continue to Gateway for the full byway.
- 📍 Whitewater
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: CO-141 near mile marker 129 (Driggs Mansion Overlook), Unaweep Canyon, Whitewater, CO 81527
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Unaweep Canyon — Drive six minutes further south on CO-141 to cross the barely perceptible divide where the canyon oddly drains out both ends at once.
- Gateway Canyons Resort — Curator of Curiosity Tours — Continue 15 miles south down the scenic byway to dive into deep-time geology and regional curiosities with a resort historian.
- Calamity Camp Mining Site — If abandoned canyon structures are your draw, head further down toward Gateway to explore a remote mesa-top uranium mining camp.
Good to know
Can you walk inside the Driggs Mansion ruins?
No. The ruin stands on private ranch land protected by a conservation easement, so you must stay behind the fence at the official overlook.
Where is the Driggs Mansion located?
It sits along CO-141 near mile marker 129 in Unaweep Canyon, about 35 minutes south of Grand Junction via the Whitewater turnoff.
Are there gas stations or services near the site?
No. There is a 45-mile stretch of highway with zero fuel between Whitewater and Gateway, so fill your tank before heading into the canyon.
Who built the mansion and why is it abandoned?
It was built in 1918 for author Laurence La Tourette Driggs by stonemason Nunzio Grasso, but it was abandoned shortly after because Driggs's wife couldn't tolerate the canyon's intense isolation.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: coloradoencyclopedia.org · historycolorado.org · cowestlandtrust.org
last checked: 2026-06-11