Jackson House

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 17, 2024

1. Jackson House Marker

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From the Colorado State Register Nomination prepared by R. Laurie Simmons and Thomas H. Simmons, 8/27/1999:
Jackson House is associated with the development of north Colorado Springs influenced by the Cripple Creek mining boom, having been completed in 1900 as a private residence for wealthy attorney and mining investor W. S. Montgomery.
Jackson House is a massive, two-and-a-half-story residence. The Castle Rock ignimbrite walls are laid in alternating, coursed, narrow and wide rows with beaded mortar joints, and

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 17, 2024

2. Jackson House Marker

The marker is mounted on the right side of the west/front entrance.

the windows and doors have stone lintels. There is a stone foundation and a stone water table with beveled top with squared edge. The building represents the Colonial Revival style with French influences, embodied in its hipped roof, the dormers with exaggerated arched pediments, the garland ornaments on the tower and porte cochère, and the heavily elaborated interior entrance with elliptical fanlight.
Jackson House is significant for its associations with social history and with education. In the field of social history, Jackson House is important for its association with the development of the neighborhood east of the college campus as a residential area for wealthy Colorado Springs residents, particularly those who made millions in Cripple Creek and those who were benefactors of the college. The building is significant in the area of education, having been donated to the college in 1914 to function as its administration building, and later serving as a dormitory, providing classrooms, and containing college offices. A notable association during World War II was the building’s occupation by the Navy Marine training program stationed

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 17, 2024

3. Jackson House (southwest elevation)

From the Colorado State Register Nomination:  A two-story circular stone tower with belicast roof with overhanging eaves is located at the southwest corner. The southwest tower has a wood frieze ornamented with garlands. The upper windows of the tower are double-hung sash, with narrow transoms, and the first story windows are double-hung sash. The windows have curved glass. The front porch wraps around the tower on the south.

at Colorado College.
Willis S. Montgomery was one of a number of men who became a millionaire as a result of investments in Cripple Creek. Montgomery acquired a building permit for a $50,000 residence on North Nevada Avenue facing the college campus in 1898. Montgomery hired local architect Augustus I. Smith to design his new residence. The Montgomerys lived in the house for only three years after its completion. There are some reports that the cost of construction (which reportedly totaled $75,000) and upkeep for the building led to later financial difficulties for the Montgomerys.
The house had a succession of owners over the next few years. By 1904-05, Giles B. and Melzena R. Bosworth were listed as occupants of the residence, and Frank Avery was listed in the 1906 directory. The following year, the house was identified as vacant. John W. Springer of Denver acquired the house after it had been standing vacant. He sold the property to Judson M. Bemis, who refurbished the house, and donated it to Colorado College in May 1914 to be used as its administration building.
In 1937, the Admin Building was converted to a men’s residence hall

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 17, 2024

4. Jackson House (northwest elevation)

From the Colorado State Register Nomination:  The northwest tower has a semi-octagonal roof with overhanging eaves and double-hung sash windows on the first and second stories, as well as rectangular, single-light basement windows.

and was renamed “Jackson House,” in honor of William Sharpless Jackson, Sr., who had served on the college Board of Trustees from its founding in 1874 until 1917.
During World War II, Colorado College was the site of a Navy-Marine V-12 training unit, one of three institutions in the Rocky Mountain region to be selected for such a program. In 1943, Jackson House and five other facilities at the college were converted to meet Navy housing requirements. The Navy outfitted the house with double-deck bunk beds, small wooden chests, and desks. Trainees in the program received military training in addition to taking academic classes provided by the college.
In 1946, Jackson House was reconverted to a men’s dormitory to help meet the overcrowding at the college which ensued after the end of World War II. The building was closed as a dormitory in 1958. In 1960, the college spent about $25,000 remodeling the house into seven offices and ten classrooms, providing space for eleven professors and their students. At this time, the interior and exterior of the building were remodeled, and it received a new roof, as well as upgraded plumbing and lighting.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 17, 2024

5. Jackson House (northeast elevation)

From the Colorado State Register Nomination:  The north wall of the main block of the house is dominated by a large, projecting, two-and-a-half story pavilion topped by an exaggerated arched pediment with central “keystone.” The pediment projects out slightly above the porch below and is elaborated with molded coping with dentil trim which springs from corner pilasters with capitals. There is a central, two-light, roundel in the face of the pediment, and the pediment is clad with shingles. The second story of the pavilion is frame and there are two double-hung sash windows with wooden tracery in the upper sashes. The windows are topped by blind arches ornamented with crossed horns.

In 1962, Jackson House was the site of evening classes for the University of Colorado Extension program. In 1969, Jackson House once again became a dormitory, housing both men and women.
Jackson House inspired the creation of the concept of “theme houses” on the Colorado College campus in the 1970s. Rooms in the residence had originally been distributed on the basis of a lottery. In 1976, the college awarded the entire house to a group whose intellectual and social life was organized around a central theme which was designed to foster a sense of community.

Excerpt:  The construction of Montgomery's residence drew much local attention, as well as the notice of the Denver Times, which reported it was "one of the handsomest residences ever erected" in Colorado Springs. While the initial building permit was for $50,000, final construction costs reportedly reached $75,000. When completed in 1900, the house was described as "among the most notable" of the residences built during the prosperous period at the turn of the century. The Castle Rock limestone residence

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 17, 2024

6. Jackson House (west/front elevation)

From the Colorado State Register Nomination: Jackson House has a hipped roof with center widow’s walk. The front has a projecting, one-story, full-width, flat roof, wrap-around porch. The base of the porch is composed of large blocks of evenly coursed rock-faced stone and has large arched vents with metal grilles and stone latticework on the southwest. The central main entrance is accessed by wide concrete stairs with curving stone podia and a central metal pipe railing. The porch floor on either side of the entrance area is wood, and there is a stone threshold. There is a slightly projecting, central, stone entrance bay with double doors with large rectangular lights. Windows on the sides of the entrance bay have curved glass. A low stone wall encloses the front yard on the west and north.

was described as being designed in a "colonial style, with modifications." The lavish interior featured a spacious hall with beams of carved Flemish oak "in Elizabethan style," a library and music room, a den, a formal drawing room, and a "massive oak staircase" with carved balustrade and newel post crowned by a Spanish figure. A bowling alley and billiard hall provided recreational opportunities in the basement.

Jackson House was listed in the State Register of Historic Properties in 1999 in recognition of its significant history. At that time, some of its original exterior architectural features were missing due to deterioration. With assistance from a State Historical Fund grant, the missing exterior elements were completely restored in 2003 and 2004.