Fire claims iconic Clovis 'castle house'

One of Clovis' more iconic buildings caught fire – again – on Wednesday and it's been reduced to rubble.

The "castle house" at 1220 Mitchell was reported on fire about 1:30 p.m. and was quickly destroyed by the blaze.

Police on the scene said arson was the likely cause.

"Someone" started the fire, Clovis Fire Chief Mike Nolen said, since the building has been empty for years and it had no working utilities.

"We've had three or four previous fires in it," Nolen said. "Transients or kids ... we've had reports of kids setting fires in there before, but couldn't (confirm) anything."

Clovis firefighters responded to three house fires in about 20 minutes on Wednesday, Nolen said, but there are no indications they were related. A home at 109 Park Drive also burned, with embers getting "into the attic" of a neighboring house and causing major damage, Nolen said.

No injuries were reported from any of the blazes.

The houses on Park Drive were both occupied, but it wasn't clear if anyone was home at the time of the fires. The 109 Park Drive residence was destroyed, Nolen said, while its neighbor sustained damage to the roof.

Arson is not suspected in the Park Drive fires, Nolen said. Those fires were contained about two hours after they started.

The castle house – so named because of its architectural style, with small turrets lining the roof – has been home to a variety of businesses in the past 50 years.

Clovis Realtor Brett Johnson told The News that the property once belonged to Realtor Roy Gentry, who worked out of there.

"He remodeled the building to its castle-like exterior about 1975," Johnson said.

Betty's Real Estate offices – operated by Betty Wilmeth and Russell Weems -- were there in the late 1970s, followed by the London Lady clothing store and the Loft salon in the mid-1980s, then Team Builders counseling services around 2000. Residents said they also remember it was home to a video rental store and photography studio at times.

Public records show individuals lived at the address as far back as 1939, but there is no record of when the building was constructed, according to the Curry County assessor's office.

Becky (Weems) Reeves said she remembers when the castle house "was just a regular house. It didn't look like the castle. It was just an old two-story house."

"That was when Mitchell (Street) didn't go past 14th Street," she said, sometime in the early 1960s.

Reeves said Betty's Real Estate bought the castle house from Gentry.

Gentry died in 2021 at age 81.

Nolen said the building was leveled because it was likely to fall over and damage nearby properties. Firefighters were removed from inside the structure before the fire was extinguished due to safety concerns.

Firefighters mostly had the fire contained early Wednesday evening, but it flared up again about 2 a.m. Thursday, the chief said. The fire likely started on the single-story portion of the building, near the middle.

Nolen said the three fires forced most of the city's firefighting force into action. He said firefighters from Ranchvale, Texico and County Line were "placed around the city" and were ready to respond if needed, but they were not needed.