A man and his castle

Only a mile away from the humming traffic in downtown Gunnison, a Victorian castle hides among aspen groves. It is tucked away at Dos Rios, and wears its age with missing shingles and boarded windows. Over 100 years ago, the architectural wonder was built by a founding father of Gunnison and his family. Today, only ghosts dance on its hardwood floors and descend the elegant staircases.

Last month, a passionate group of locals received the green light to purchase the castle and return the people of Gunnison to its dancing halls and historic chambers. They formed the Hartman Castle Preservation Corps. — a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring the mansion to its past glory. The fundraising campaign launched in November, and is working to reconnect the community to a vital piece of Gunnison history.

Alonzo Hartman was a cattleman, pioneer and one of Gunnison’s founding fathers. In 1872, he crossed Cochetopa Pass in a blizzard on Christmas Day and fell in love with the Gunnison Country. Twenty years later, Hartman had laid the foundation for the Gunnison townsite and became wealthy as a cattle mogul.

In 1891, he and his wife, Annie, built a masterpiece — a three story, Victorian mansion at Dos Rios. The estate became a landmark in the Gunnison community. Its halls hosted elaborate gatherings, weddings and balls. The mansion was dubbed a “castle” because of its Gothic turret, three-story winding staircase, stained glass windows and intricate wood details. The Hartmans sold their treasure in 1911, and in recent years has sat deteriorating.

Now, more than 100 years after the Hartmans left their castle, a group of historians and locals are working to restore the home. This spring, current owner Dave Taylor agreed to sell the property to board members Polly Oberosler and Pam Williams. The corps began fundraising last month. According to its website, the group will need to raise $800,000 to purchase the property outright. Because of the historical significance, the group is confident historical grants will cover the restoration costs, Williams said.

Though that is a tall task, the members of the corps are driven by a shared vision to reconnect a crucial piece of Gunnison history with the current population. For the folks who have weathered many winters in these hills, the castle isn’t just any old homestead.

Local historian Duane Vandenbusche described the Hartman Castle as the

personification of the Gunnison Country. It is an artifact that binds the spirit of the frontier and the cattlemen with the modern day, he said.

Last month, the corps kicked off its fundraising campaign with an event at the Gunnison Library. Vandenbusche opened the evening with a colorful lecture of Alonzo Hartman’s history. He began by reciting a verse from “Blue Water Line,” a 1960 folk song on the importance of preserving history.

“The City Council met last night, the vote was four to three

To tear the home town depot down and build a factory

To take that stretch of history and tear it off the map

And to take old engine number nine and turn it into scrap

Blue Water, Blue Water, Blue Water Line.

If you can't afford a quarter

Then you ought to give a dime

If everybody gave then we could save the Blue Water Line.”

“That’s why we’re all here today,” Vandenbusche said. “To save the Blue Water Line, we want to save the Hartman Castle.”

From cowpoke to king

According to the biography “Dos Rios Memories” by Judy Buffington Sammons and the recent Vandenbusche lecture, Hartman was one of the first settlers of the Western Slope. He was born in 1850 in Iowa to a Canadian father and American mother who claimed to be a direct descendant of Daniel Boone.

Hartman began working with cattle in 1863 after his family moved to Denver. He worked his way up in the trade. He raised his own herd in the San Luis Valley before moving to Saguache in the early 1870s. At the time, the only inhabitants in the Gunnison area were the Uncompahgre Ute Indians, led by Chief Ouray at the Los Pinos Indian Agency near Cochetopa Pass. Hartman took control of the cow camp there, and raised cattle and sheep to supply the Tribe.

In 1873, a new treaty moved the Utes from Los Pinos to a new agency in Colona, just south of Montrose. Because Hartman had become a friend to Chief Ouray and the Ute people, the move disturbed him, and he struggled to relocate the cattle to their new reservation with the uprooted Tribe. After the relocation, Hartman built a drafty cabin at Dos Rios and multiplied his herd.

Alongside pioneer Jim Kelley, Hartman began laying out the Gunnison townsite. In his memoir, he wrote, “From a town inhabited by only prairie dogs, Gunnison is now a metropolis of 4,000, two schools, five churches, four hotels and stores and businesses.”

By 1883, the 32-year-old Hartman married 29-year-old Annie Haigler of West Virginia. It wasn’t until 1891 that Hartman decided to build Annie a house unlike anything in Gunnison at the time. He spent $45,000 — $1,600,000 today — on construction and created a magnificent Victorian mansion, complete with running water, an elevator and library.

Inside, the Hartmans furnished the mansion with hand-painted murals and furniture purchased at the World’s Fair in Chicago. Intricate wood detailing, Italian marble and stained glass added to the luxury. There was no doubt, Hartman wasn’t living in a drafty cow camp any more.

Historical accounts say the Hartmans opened their estate up to the surrounding community. With an expansive hardwood floor layout, the house functioned as a dance hall and was known to entertain until the early hours of the morning. The most famous event was the wedding of Hazel Hartman, Alonzo’s daughter in 1910.

“The bride came down the stairway and entered the library on the arm of her father,” Sammons wrote in her biography. “They were married under an arch of white and yellow chrysanthemums by the big bay window.”

In 1911, Alonzo sold the property, when his son, Bruce, decided to leave the family business. The Hartman children scattered away from Gunnison, and Annie and Alonzo relocated to a sandstone house on Wisconsin Street before moving to California in 1926. He died in 1940 in California at almost 90 years old.

Preserving western heritage

Over the years, the castle had many owners, even becoming a restaurant for a time. Taylor purchased the land in 2012, and locals have dreamt of restoring it to its original beauty. Now, after years of deterioration, the castle may finally be renovated.

“My interest has persisted for 10 years now,” Williams said. “When Dave offered to sell it, we were astonished. He has been eager to complete the project. It’s a place where you can feel the history of this town.”

The corps is made up of three board members, Williams, Oberosler and Shelley Popke, a former director of the Crested Butte Museum. They are working directly with Jody Reeser, a local architect and Tim Williams, a construction consultant with experience in historical renovations.

Reeser performed an initial walk-through of the property and returned with positive news.

“I was relieved to see the castle is in such stable condition, despite years of neglect,” she wrote in her findings. “The most delightful surprise of all, is to see so much surviving trim work, stair detailing and fireplace surrounds in such beautiful condition. That is not to say there isn’t plenty of work to be done, but it is a prime candidate for preservation and rehabilitation.”

Williams said her dream is to resurrect the Hartman Castle to its former role as a community gathering place. She envisions hosting local dances, weddings and events along with history tours.

“When it reopens, it would be amazing to host gatherings with the original songs and dances of the time,” she said. “The Virginia Reel, old square dances and bachelor balls for the community to enjoy.”

Now, the corps turns to community fundraising to make the initial purchase. Upon achieving ownership, the group is confident historical grants will provide the necessary restoration funds. However, Williams said the purchase will be a group effort.

“The Hartman Castle shows a great connection between what was, and what is,” Vandenbusche said. “It was built at a time of great optimism. Ranching was booming, the railroads were running and the economy was humming along. The castle is a monument to the past. It is a monument to the fortitude of the Gunnison Country.”

Donations, volunteer opportunities and information can be found at hartmancastle.org.

(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@gunnisontimes.com.)