Hiwan Homestead
Jefferson County
Essentially completed by 1896, this large Rustic style residence was constructed over a ten year period for Mary Neosha Williams by John Spence, a native of Scotland who was a skilled carpenter and mason. The irregular floor plan reflects the owner’s commitment to build around the many large evergreens on the site. Walls of the one, two, and three-story residence are of log, and the foundation walls and chimneys are of stone.
Hiwan Homestead (ca. 2000 photograph.)
A second story room in one of the distinctive octagonal towers served as an Episcopal chapel and features Gothic arches. Under the name of Camp Neosha, during the late 1800s and early 1900s, the property served as the focus for the Evergreen Conference of the Episcopal Church in Colorado. Since being purchased by the Jefferson County Open Space program in the mid-1970s, it has been operated as a museum by the Jefferson County Historical Society.