Nonprofit now owns Hartman Castle

After three years, and $675,000 raised from hundreds of donors and two state grants, Hartman Castle Preservation Corporation took ownership recently of the historic Hartman Castle, Gunnison's most distinctive 19th-century home. "It has been a very emotional journey," said Pamela Williams, president of the nonprofit, after signing the closing papers in Crested Butte.

“The Castle has such a fabulous history. It wasn’t just the Hartman’s. It’s other families and the entire community who have loved and treasured the castle,” Williams said.

Working with a small core team and an ever-growing cadre of volunteers, they received money through grants from History Colorado, the Office of Economic Development, and the Office of Just Transition, along with large and small donations from hundreds of people.

“The timing was urgent. You got a sense this is the castle's last chance. Now we can focus on assessment, stabilization, and the restoration planning,” Williams explained

Preservation of what is considered Gunnison's most distinctive historic house, the Queen Anne Style castle commanded a 2,000-acre ranch homesteaded in 1875 by Alonzo Hartman. Hartman, along with Sylvester Richardson, founded Gunnison. 

Earlier preservation efforts failed to materialize. “I think about those people that came before us. It's not just Alonzo and Annie Hartman, but there are many people to whom this has special meaning, even just people who know it casually,” Williams said.

She tells the story of a recent donation to the castle. As a young boy this donor visited, and now, he has a much greater appreciation of what the castle means. “We don’t even know him, but like many others he was touched by the history of the castle and memories of the place,” Williams added.

Preserving the castle is not just about the past, but its future, Williams said. “It's knowing what this place can be for Gunnison, for families and for the entire community. A restored castle will create new memories and economic development opportunities. There's so much potential, and that part of it is exciting.”

People who’ve done capital campaigns told Williams and her group that it would take them about three years to raise the initial funds for the purchase. Almost exactly three years after their first public event announcing the preservation efforts, the first goal has been achieved.

“I would have liked it to go faster, but it gave us the opportunity to build community awareness, partnerships, and a stronger foundation for restoration. In these three years, we have introduced Hartman Castle to countless people through all the great publicity the project has received,” Williams commented.

She concluded, “This has been just short of a miracle. If you know how capital campaigns run, this should never have been successful. We started with nothing, but we didn’t have the luxury of staying quiet and building a donor base. We had to engage the community from the beginning, taking a very nontraditional path to a capital campaign.”

The miraculous journey continued today. First Southwest Bank, in Durango, is one of two in the state that can handle transactions like the one for the Hartman Castle purchase. Between a data breach last week, and floods that have closed roads and businesses throughout southwestern Colorado, Williams said the bank went far above the call of duty and made today’s closing a priority, even though the physical bank was closed.

The preservation team is now working on a second strategic plan to guide fundraising for restoration, as well as visioning the future after everything is restored.