James Oliver Curwood was born in Owosso on June 12, 1878, and lived there most of his life. Writing and love of nature were his boyhood interests, and by 1908 he was earning his living as a novelist. Most of his stories were adventure tales set in the Canadian north, where he spent much of his time. During the 1920s his books were among the most popular in North America, and many were made into movies. The castle, built in 1922, was his writing studio, and a number of his later works were composed in the tower overlooking the Shiawassee River. Curwood became a zealous conservationist, and in 1926 he was appointed to the Michigan Conservation Commission. He died at his nearby home on Williams Street on August 13, 1927.
