Glen Eyrie

Glen Eyrie is a 67-room English Tudor-style castle built by General William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs. This house was his dream home and is near Colorado Springs in the northwest foothills north of the Garden of the Gods rock formations (now a city park). After building a large carriage house, where the family lived for a time, Palmer and his wife Mary (Queen) Mellen built a 22-room frame house on the 800-acre (3.2 km2) estate. This house was remodeled in 1881 to include a tower and additional rooms, and made to resemble a stone castle, reminiscent of those native to the England from which Mrs. Palmer hailed.

Queen Palmer, at age 21, opened the first public school in Colorado Springs in November 1871. The Palmers had three daughters, Elsie, Dorothy, and Marjory.

In 1880, Mrs. Palmer suffered a mild heart attack and was advised to move to a lower altitude. She and the girls moved to the East Coast and then to England where General Palmer visited them as often as he could. Queen died on December 28, 1894, at the age of 44. In sorrow, General Palmer went to England to return Mrs. Palmer's remains and the girls to Colorado Springs.