A stone castle that has loomed over a Gunnison ranch since the 19th century has a new owner. Hartman Castle Preservation Corporation took possession of the property recently, closing out a three-year campaign that raised $675,000 from hundreds of donors and two state grants.
The nonprofit's purchase ends a yearslong push to save a structure in disrepair, according to Rocky Mountain PBS. As Gunnison Country Times reported, the group secured slightly more than half of the purchase price through two state grants, then raised the remaining funds through community fundraising. A $250,000 award from the State Historical Fund, part of History Colorado, went specifically toward the purchase, while the Office of Economic Development and International Tourism and the Office of Just Transition jointly contributed $100,000, according to the same Gunnison Country Times report.
Pamela Williams, president of Hartman Castle Preservation Corporation, said the milestone reflects a broad community effort. “Now we can focus on assessment, stabilization, and the restoration planning,” she said, per Gunnison Country Times, pointing to the next phase of work now that ownership has changed hands.
A Castle Built From One Woman's Dream
The property traces back to Alonzo Hartman, who arrived in the Gunnison Valley in 1872 and worked as a cattle farmer for the Los Piños Indian Agency, managing the agency's herd and providing food for Ute people after they were forced from their land onto a reservation covering nearly all of Colorado west of the Continental Divide, according to Rocky Mountain PBS. Hartman went on to open a trading post, store and post office in what became the town of Gunnison, and later bought 120 acres of nearby ranch land that grew into the 2,000-acre homestead he established in 1875, as detailed by Gunnison Country Times.
In 1891, Hartman built a home for his wife, Annie, an artist who dreamed of a house with a turret and wide windows for painting, Rocky Mountain PBS reports. The resulting structure, built in Gothic and Queen Anne architectural styles, is what residents now call Hartman Castle. Sources differ on exactly when construction finished: CPR reported the stone building was completed in 1893, while an earlier Gunnison Country Times article referred to it as the “1894 castle.”
Hartman left the Gunnison Valley in 1912, selling the property to another rancher that same year. The building later served as a restaurant for a few years in the 1970s, and Rocky Mountain PBS notes that people who lived in or passed through the castle over the decades have shared memories publicly, including a viewer who recalled staying overnight there and an Instagram poster who said a cousin lived in the castle during the 1960s. Domenic Policaro wrote that a friend and a group of wrestlers lived in the castle for a summer, with the wrestlers sleeping upstairs because the building was unstable.
Endangered List and a Viral Boost
Hartman Castle was named to Colorado's Most Endangered Places list in February, one of five historic sites added to the statewide list that year, per CPR. The castle needs a new roof, plumbing and new electrical work, and it currently has no heating system, Williams told the outlet.
The property also got an unlikely publicity boost: Hartman Castle won a social-media audience choice contest that March, beating out Paint Mines, Cheesman Park and Isabella Bird; Rocky Mountain PBS then produced an episode on the castle called Colorado Experience: Saving Hartman Castle, which aired November 7, 2024. Leora Wallace, executive director of the Gunnison County Chamber of Commerce, said a nomination could raise awareness and help the preservation group purchase and preserve the property, according to Rocky Mountain PBS.
County Landmark Status and What Comes Next
Gunnison County commissioners unanimously designated Hartman Castle and the original ranch house as individual county historic landmarks on March 3, 2026, according to records from the Gunnison County Board of Commissioners. County staff reported that the preservation corporation planned to submit a state grant request by April 1 for acquisition funding — a plan to apply, not yet a secured grant, according to the meeting record.
The roughly two-acre property includes the castle and two other buildings, and the preservation corporation plans to restore and preserve all three, per Rocky Mountain PBS. The group has applied for a History Colorado property survey assessment grant and is working with a historic architect in Gunnison, and it plans to pursue National Register of Historic Places designation, which would open additional grant eligibility pathways, the outlet reports. The total cost of renovation has not been determined.
History Colorado has described its vision for the site as a publicly accessible cultural and community center where residents and visitors can participate in tours, exhibits, lectures and cultural events, according to the organization's State Historical Fund announcement. Williams echoed that vision to Rocky Mountain PBS, saying the restored castle will host weddings, family reunions, events and historic lectures, and that many people contributed time and effort to get the purchase across the finish line. The nonprofit says it plans to keep crowdfunding and applying for renovation grants as the stabilization work moves forward.
