Hamill House Museum

A Gothic Revival home built in 1867 by silver magnate William Arthur Hamill. The house features original furnishings, a two-story outhouse, and a rare example of a Victorian-era office. Now a museum operated by History Colorado.

The Hamill House was originally built as a modest Country Gothic cottage by Joseph Watson during Georgetown's early silver mining days. In 1867, the house was purchased by Watson's wealthy brother-in-law, William Arthur Hamill, a member of the Colorado state legislature and the wealthiest man in Georgetown thanks to his ownership of the Pelican and Dives silver mines. By 1879, Hamill had expanded the mountain estate into a lavishly appointed Victorian home featuring a conservatory, gaslighting, bay windows, walnut woodwork, central heating, and luxurious interior decor that rivaled anything in Denver. The house was considered one of the finest residences in the Colorado mountains, a testament to the staggering wealth that silver mining generated in the Georgetown-Silver Plume district. When the price of silver collapsed in the Panic of 1893, the mines shut down and the Hamill House, like much of Georgetown, went into slow decline. William Arthur Hamill is notably the great-great-great-grandfather of actor Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame.

The house is now the centerpiece of Historic Georgetown, Inc.'s museum properties and serves as a comprehensive interpretation of life in the Georgetown-Silver Plume National Historic Landmark District during the silver boom era. Visitors and staff at the museum have reported paranormal experiences consistent with a Victorian home of this age and history. Cold spots appear in rooms without drafts, and visitors have described the sensation of being watched as they move through the house, particularly in the upper rooms where the Hamill family's private quarters were located. The creaking of footsteps on the upper floors has been heard when no one is upstairs, and some visitors have reported seeing shadows moving in peripheral vision in the hallways.

The most commonly reported phenomenon involves an inexplicable sense of presence in the rooms where the Hamill family spent their daily lives -- the sitting room, the bedrooms, and the conservatory. Whether the spirits are those of the Hamill family reluctant to leave their grand home, or echoes of the dozens of servants, miners, and visitors who passed through during Georgetown's silver heyday, the Hamill House carries an atmosphere that many visitors describe as heavy with the past. Tours of the museum are offered seasonally, and the surrounding Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park provides context for the silver boom that built this remarkable house.