PORTLAND, Ore. — Tucked among homes and trees in Portland’s Southwest Hills, Piggott’s Castle is easy to miss. But the three-story brick home, with its turret and medieval-style roofline, has watched the city change since it was built in 1892. Its longtime owners are now preparing to pass it on. John and Kelsey Grout bought the house in 1979, when it was boarded up, gutted and missing basic systems such as plumbing, heating and electricity. After decades of repairs and restoration, the couple say they intend to sell and hope to find someone who will preserve the property and enjoy living there. “Our greatest wish is to find somebody — or some bodies — that will cherish it the way we do and take care of it and enjoy living in it,” John Grout said. The house was built by Charles H. Piggott, a successful Portland brickyard owner who envisioned a home unlike any other. He said he asked an architect to design a castle with no two rooms alike and no right angles, then drew the plans himself when the architect declined. Piggott supplied the bricks, though he said he did not have time to lay them. Its crenellated roof, tower and thick brick walls give the building its castle-like appearance. It was never a fortress or seat of power, but Norman Gholston, preservation program manager at the Architectural Heritage Center, has called it Portland’s most convincing home designed to resemble a medieval castle. Piggott intended the remote hillside home as a place to think and write. At the time, reaching it meant climbing 252 steps from what is now Southwest Broadway or following a mule trail. The property had no nearby water mains, sewers, gas lines or electricity; water came from a spring near the kitchen. Piggott’s small study in the turret offered views across the city, the Willamette River and distant mountain peaks. The family’s stay was brief. The economic collapse known as the Panic of 1893 led Piggott to default on his mortgage, and the property was foreclosed. The setback gave the home another name: “Piggott’s Folly.” Over the following decades, it passed through multiple owners, stood vacant and drew rumors of ghosts. Former residents said speaking tubes, wind around the battlements and distant train sounds could explain noises that unsettled people inside. The Grouts found the property in 1979, after a previous owner’s plans to restore it and turn it into a museum ended amid illness. The couple paid $110,000 for a building John described as little more than stud walls, without working heat, wiring or plumbing. He drew on his construction experience to tackle much of the work, while Kelsey helped with restoration tasks alongside her job and the couple’s growing family. They moved in full-time by the time their first daughter was born in 1982. For 15 years, the Grouts also opened their home to the public once a year, as required for a historic-property tax program. They reinforced the foundation and lowered the basement floor to make more room for their family. The house became a family home, not a haunted attraction. “Nothing’s ever happened,” John said of the ghost stories. The Grouts listed the property in 2023, then withdrew it to document the home’s history and their extensive work. They say they now plan to sell as they look to move nearer their children and grandchildren. The castle’s next owner will inherit a distinctive surviving piece of Portland’s built history — one the Grouts hope will stand for another century.