History

The buildings at Hiwan were built between the 1880s and the 1930s. In 1893 Dr. Joseha Williams bought the property for back taxes from Jefferson County.

A small hay barn was converted into a one-room cabin dubbed “Camp Neosho.” By 1918, Jock Spence, a local builder, had expanded the cabin to a dozen rooms and built the other structures. Dr Jo died in 1938 and the property was sold to the Buchanan family. The Buchanans renamed the Hiwan Ranch and acquired additional properties between Evergreen and Central City.

The house and buildings were inherited by the Buchanan’s daughter in the early 1960s, and in 1973 she sold the property to developer George Hurst. 1n 1974, Open Space bought the property at the urging of the Jefferson County Historical Society.