Brown, David W., House

The Brown House is significant for three reasons. It was built and occupied by David W. Brown, an important industrialist in Colorado; it was designed by George H. Williamson, a significant architect in the area, and it reflects certain elements characteristic of the prairie style of architecture, ironically not seen in any great extent here on the high plains.

David W. Brown was born in Marengo, Illinois, in about 1864. At an early age, he engaged in farming and the grain trade, but after a time he and his family emigrated to Colorado. At this time Brown moved from agriculture into mining, and in 1897 he was instrumental in founding the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company, which over the next quarter century he built into the largest producer of lignite in Colorado. Brown was also prominent socially as a member of the Cherry Hills Club, the Denver Country Club, and the Denver Press Club. He died prematurely of pneumonia in 1922.

The architect of the Brown House was George H. Williamson. Born in Brighton, Colorado, in 1872, he earned his architectural credentials as a student apprentice first for one Fred A. Hale and later for the renowned firm of Philip Varian and Frederick J. Sterner. When they dissolved their partnership in 1905, the business was continued by the firm of Sterner and Williamson, which over the next nine years designed many important buildings in Denver, notably the Daniels and Fisher Tower, now listed in the National Register. After Sterner moved to New York City, Williamson continued on in business by himself. He was particularly known for his public buildings, among them East High School, which Harvard University chose as a model of architectural design. Shortly before his death in 1936 he was voted an honorary fellowship in the American Institute of Architects.

From an architectural perspective, the Brown House reflects many elements of the prairie style. The general feeling of horizontality created by the long veranda, gently sloping roofs, and extended overhangs all suggest the efforts of the architect to mirror the flat terrain of the land in the lines of the house. And, of course, the original setting was spectacular, for the structure stood by itself on the top of a hill as the prairie rolled away into infinity in every direction except the west where it was intercepted by an unbroken line of mountains that extended from north to south as far as the eye could see.