Hiwan

Today we went to the Hiwan homestead museum in Evergreen for a tour. We had never been there before, so we were excited to see it. We ate a picnic lunch with our HS group and then broke into 2 groups for the tour. We got to go to the general store first. We went through the servants quarters (actually the whole house was theirs, but Jeffco turned part of it into a small general store circa 1895) and walked into the shop. Our guide gave everyone a penny and told us we’d get to spend it at the end.

First he asked us to find things that were different than what we’d find in a store today. Well, the eggs were lying out in a crate, the cheese was under glass, there was a post office in one corner, seeds, flour mills, coffee mills and a fruit grinder. Then he asked us to find things that were the same. There was a teapot, tea, vegetables, a scale, yarn. Next he gave everyone a list of things they had to buy; we walked around and found the items (like Hannah had a cowbell, 2 apples, and a teapot.) Then he asked them how they were going to pay for it. Since we all had a penny (and the items were more than a penny) he made each child sign their name in the ledger and wrote the amount next to it. (Well, Hannah can’t write her name, so she just made an ‘o’; that’s what she is when we play tic-tac-toe.)

Hannah owed $1.24, Grace owed $2.38!

Then we got to trade in our penny for 2 jelly beans, a pencil or a foot of ribbon. Grace and Hannah threw up their hands when the guide asked who wanted jellybeans. Bethany bought a blue ribbon with her penny. Stamps were 2 cents, ahhh……that would be nice for Tea Tuesday, 2 cent stamps!! We went back and listened to our guide tell us about the servants quarters. At first the servants lived in tents on the grounds, I think that sounds kind of harsh.

After a hard blizzard in 1913 their servants said build us a house or else! So they got this little 2 room cabin. (I think they should have asked sooner!)

We had a few minute to kill before the inside tour so we headed over to the wood shop. It smelled like fire and old wood, nice.

Here are some tools, Hannah liked the vise grip.

There was a printing shop on the other side. Grace was turning the roller for inking the paper.

We’ve been here enough that we know all about printing machines.

Next stop was the house itself.

Once a one room chinked cabin, it was added onto over the years and is now 17 rooms, 7 fireplaces and a chapel.

The lady who came here in the late 1800’s, Josepha Williams, was one of the first mountain doctors in the area, the first woman doctor that is. She married an Episcopalian priest, Charles Douglas, and they had 1 son Eric Douglas. We almost assume that Douglas County is named after them. Eric was one of the first curators for the American Indian wing of the Denver Art museum. All over the house we found examples of Indian tribes from around the US. There were moccasins, papoose boards, drawings, tiles, art, baskets, games, and blankets that were from Native Americans. Eric was an artist too and he painted several Anaszi like figures on the dining room walls. The Canon Douglas had a chapel built at the top of the house; most of the main rooms in the house are octagonal like the chapel.

The views out of the dining room were so nice.

Here is the sewing/music room…hey I have a drop spindle like that!

The Douglas family loved nature so much that they asked the builder to build around some of the trees on the property. The architect’s influence is seen throughout the house with 200 stair step references in the walls, doors, and windows. It would be neat to hunt for all 200. The kitchen was updated in what looked like the 1940-50’s. There was an ice box in the wall with a back entrance for the ice man to deliver the ice. The glass in almost all of the windows is original so it has waves in it when you look through. The pine beams inside and out gave the whole house the air of fitting in amongst the trees.

On the way out we played at the stone house, here is Hannah singing a song (in case you can’t understand her: “There ain’t no bugs on me betuz, ain’t no bugs on me betuz they’re on Bethany” I think it’s a commercial for flea formula for dogs or something.)

We saw this covered wagon and thought it a fitting end to the tour.

Just how old is travel bunny anyway??

It was pretty hot out so on the way home we stopped at O’Fallon park and waded in the water.

We saw lots of tiny fish (darn I had just taken the net out of the car the other day) which the girls tried to catch.

It was a nice respite to dip our feet in the water (which was cool, but not frigid!)

We were just about to go when Hannah fell in and got soaking wet. I had just said ‘Be careful that you don’t get soaking wet.’ Oh well, we had a towel in the car, but it was pretty funny.

Tomorrow we have a tour of the B-25 H bomber (again), but this time with friends.