The only structure on the property at the time was a hay barn, which Mary and her daughter Josepha hired local carpenter John "Jock" Spence to convert into a three-room cabin, finished in 1893.

[5] Jeffco Public Schools students visit the museum as part of the fourth grade Colorado history unit,[6] an optional field trip program which began in 1976.

As the building grew, it was built to accommodate large standing trees, making for unusual room arrangements and architectural features.

Scattered through the house are fine Indian motif designs painted by the noted anthropologist Eric Douglas, and the second story room in the west octagon tower exhibits the Gothic arches used to create the chapel atmosphere desired by Canon Douglas, noted Episcopalian liturgist who inherited the house from Mrs. Williams as her son-in-law.

"Other structures built by Jock Spence in the area include the Church of the Transfiguration chapel (c. 1900, moved to its current site in 1961), the Evans–Elbert Ranch residence (1908), the Bell Tower at Church of the Transfiguration (1911), the Anne Evans Mountain Home (1911), Greystone Lodge (1917), and Center Stage (1924, originally the Evergreen Conference Meeting House).