HIWAN HOMESTEAD MUSEUM
Museum hours are 11 A.M. to 5 P.M., Tuesday through Sunday. The Museum is closed on Mondays. For more information, contact Hiwan Homestead Museum at 720-497-7650.
Visit: www.jeffco.us

The most common question visitors to Hiwan Homestead Museum ask is, “Can I live here”? The question is easy to understand as you walk through the main Museum building. It still has a welcoming, homey feeling imparted to it by its builder, Scottish master craftsman John “Jock” Spence. The Museum was originally a relaxing mountain getaway retreat for Dr. Josepha Williams (‘Dr. Jo”), her mother Mary Neosho Williams, her husband, Episcopal clergyman Charles W. Douglas, her son Eric, and their huge extended family. It was known as “Camp Neosho”.

Over the years “Jock” Spence enlarged the original “Camp Neosho” cabin into a 17-room, 10,000 square-foot log mansion with a small private chapel inside. He also constructed a stone root cellar, a housekeepers’ cabin, an artist’s studio, a stone playhouse for Eric’s three children, and a summer home for Eric’s family.

After Dr. Jo died in 1938, Camp Neosho and its 1,100 acres were purchased by Tulsa oilman Darst Buchanan. The Buchanan family invested heavily in the cattle ranching business and eventually owned or leased about 15,000 acres as part of their Hiwan ranch. “Hiwan” is an Anglo-Saxon word from England meaning enough land to support a family household

After the Buchanans’ daughter Joan Landy sold the home and other buildings in 1973, they were acquired by Jefferson County Open Space and opened as a Museum in 1975. The Museum was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 due to its unique log architecture. Hiwan Homestead Museum is a Jefferson County Open Space facility, operated through a partnership with Jefferson County Historical Society. It is located at 4208 S. Timbervale Drive in Evergreen.

Hiwan Homestead Museum, Jefferson County Open Space and Jefferson County Historical Society are sponsoring a fun and fascinating 150th Anniversary Celebration at the Museum on July 4, from Noon to 3:00 p.m. The celebration will feature the High Line Cornet Band playing antique brass instruments, a special 150th Anniversary photo exhibit, old-time children’s games,150th birthday cake, an Anniversary quilt, a brochure showing “then and now” photos of the surrounding area, and other activities. Humphrey Memorial Museum and Park will be bringing their original Model A Ford to add to the fun, and Lookout Mountain Nature Center staff will present a special coyote program. Visitors can also meet reenactors portraying the Bergen family and talk with them about the 1800’s in Jefferson County. This event is free to the public.