Grandview High School students document renovation of a castle

By Don Bradley 

 Kegen Adcock wants to be a filmmaker. Maya Christiansen Wright wants a career in television news. 

So the two Grandview High School juniors enrolled in an advanced broadcasting class. 

Now they find themselves deep in the tale of an old castle. Haunted, some say, from the owner’s death in a second-floor bedroom. The place was built in the early 1870s with chandeliers from Vienna and sandstone lions to guard the entry. 

Sauer Castle’s tower, reaching above all that was near, could be seen for miles. 

But over time, grandeur gave way to rotting wood, crumbling stone, neglect, theft and vandalism. 

Public fascination with the place, however, remained solid. 

Now, a new owner is attempting to restore the Italianate-designed castle at 935 Shawnee Road in Kansas City, Kan., to its early magnificence, turning it eventually into an event space.  

And Kegen and Maya, the two Grandview students, have been tabbed to document the project with a monthly episode on YouTube. 

Kegen, the aspiring filmmaker, is shooting a lot of the video and hopes he doesn’t fall through the ceiling. 

Maya, who wants NBC anchorman Lester Holt’s job, sees the story as a journey. 

“It’s coming back to life and we’re telling the story,” she said. 

The project is exactly what their teacher, Diane Euston, wanted. An English and history teacher, Euston began two years ago to try and revitalize the school’s broadcasting curriculum. She says she’s always ready to take a risk.

“I knew for this to work the students couldn’t be confined to the four walls of this school…they had to get out there,” Euston said. 

(Note: Euston writes history stories regularly for The Telegraph). 

She had written several stories about Sauer Castle over the years and knew Mike Heitmann, the new owner. 

Last fall, Heitmann, well aware of the public interest in the castle, asked Euston if she knew a good way to keep the public informed of the progress. 

She immediately thought of her class. 

“Well, I have these students….” 

The tale of Sauer Castle begins with German immigrant Anton Sauer who arrived in New York City in 1858. His wife soon died, and Anton moved to Kansas City shortly after the Civil War. He was a businessman, a good one by all accounts, and made a fortune in various endeavors, including wine, wool, cotton and steamboats. 

In 1869, at age 46 he married a 28-year-old widow with two children. The couple then had more children, prompting Anton to build a larger home. A castle, as it turned out.

He hired famed architect Asa Beebe Cross for the job. Cross’ works include the Wornall House, Vaile Mansion and the Gillis Opera House. 

Money, it seems, was no concern. Besides the chandeliers and lions, the place had hand-carved rosewood spindles on the staircase, fireplace made of imported marble and a dining room with 24 chairs. 

When finished in 1873, the castle with its four-story tower overlooking the Kaw River, immaculate grounds, swimming pool, lush gardens, fountains, greenhouse with imported flowers and wine cellar, captured the public’s fascination. 

Anton Sauer died six years later. But five generations of the Sauer family would eventually live in the home. 

Then came a series of different owners, money woes, neglect, disrepair, harsh weather, theft, vandalism and crumbling parts. 

At various times, it’s been boarded up, fenced off, declared unsafe and slated for auction for back taxes. Its story led to folklore and ghost tales. 

A Star Magazine cover: “Tales of the truly weird. This is Sauer Castle where inside, at this very moment, someone, or something, waits for you.” 

Room 310 at Grandview High School is also dubbed “Bulldog TV Studio.” 

Inside, students work on different assignments and in the back corner, Kegen and Maya study video they’ve shot at Sauer Castle and work on B-roll for a narration script.

They’d both learned about Sauer Castle in earlier classes taught by Euston. 

“Anytime I was featured on TV, it only made sense to show my broadcasting students and my KC History classes what activism and clear messaging look like,” Euston said. 

“I feel like they (Kegen and Maya) were perfect for this project because they both have a natural interest in things like this and are mindful of what being a part of this means. 

“I couldn’t be prouder of how they have risen to the challenge.” 

 Kegen, an admirer of Wes Anderson films, jumped at the chance to be involved in the project, which is being done as an outside activity. 

“Closest I’m going to get to my career path,” he said. 

Kegen acknowledges it was the craft not the topic that drew him, at first. 

“But now that we’ve learned so much about the castle, so, yeah, that has to be part of it,” he said. 

Same with Maya, and more. The castle, it seems, has a generational draw bridge. 

“Me and my grandparents talk about Sauer Castle,” she smiled. 

Anyone wanting to keep up with Maya and Kegen’s project can go to YouTube and search for “Saving Sauer Castle”.