Byers Evans House
The Byers-Evans House is an unlikely survivor in Denver, just like all the ghosts living in it
Ghost Stories of the
Byers Evans House
- Shadow figures are seen at times
- Disembodied laughter is sometimes reported
- Psychics report a ‘paranormal portal’ in the house
- Furniture is moved by unseen forces
- Sounds of conversations come from empty rooms
- Doors around the house slam and swing open
Mansions & Matriarchs:
History of the Byers Evans House
Every so often, there are homes that stubbornly ignore the passage of time. Like the house from Up, they remain rooted in place and purpose as a modern, metropolitan world evolves just beyond the property line.
One such home stands in the cultural heart of Denver, Colorado. The Byers-Evans House, a historic gem surrounded by modern museums, is now a museum itself.
The Byers-Evans House is home to the Center for Colorado Women’s History. It stands as a monument to both the home’s defiance of time, and the women who did the defying.
While it hasn’t been a private home for years, a few spirits may still be defying time, and death, to keep living in it.
Timeline of Byers Evans House's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Byers Evans House through the years
1883
When it was first built in 1883, the Byers-Evans House was part of a rapidly developing area of Denver. Its first residents were William and Elizabeth Byers. William had found success running the Rocky Mountain News newspaper. He was also the leader of a local tram company. The Byers’ 3,600 square foot home promised them every luxury life could afford. But, the family lived a relatively short time in the house. The Byers sold their Denver home to William Gray Evans in 1889.
1899
Evans, a coworker of William Byers, had long had an interest in the house for his family. The Evans’ and their children moved right in, and soon had another child in the house. For the rest of the 1800s, the Evans family would grow into the spacious house. But, as a new century dawned, even more space was needed. A large expansion began in 1899, adding an extra apartment to the home. This allowed the family, plus William’s mother, to live comfortably into the 1900s.
1924
When William Evans died in 1924, he left the Byers-Evans House in the care of four women. They were his widow, Cornelia, daughters, Katharine and Josephine, and sister, Anne. Together, the Evans women maintained the now aging home, even as the rest of the block was rezoned in 1925. Commercial development bulldozed their neighbors. However, the women never even considered selling their house. Instead, they began preserving it, retaining furniture and historic interior stylings.
1974
Thanks to both the women’s care and their persistence against development, the Byers-Evans House became a landmark in Denver. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Shortly after, the remaining family pledged the home to the Colorado Historical Society. Margaret Evans Davis, the home’s final resident, died in 1981, and the home was transferred to the historical society soon after. Through the society, the Byers-Evans House was reopened as a public museum.
2018
In 2018, after over thirty years as a museum, the home also became the Center for Colorado Women’s History. Long a home to programs on women’s history and impact, the house became the formal home of women’s history in the state. And as the home developed into an educational center, the spirits of past residents began coming out of the woodwork. Apparently eager educators, the Byers-Evans ghosts became regular factors around the house. They happily live their afterlives, and teach visitors something new about history.
Is the Byers Evans House Haunted?
Interestingly, no one is sure exactly who haunts the Byers-Evans House. Exact identities are tough to establish.
Shadowy forms around the home are often all anyone has to go on.
The shadow figures lingering around the Byers-Evans House aren’t known to be vivid. However, visitors do report both male and female figures drifting through the home.
While no one can be sure, many people assume these are the entities of the Evans family. After all, they were the home’s longest and most dedicated owners.
A Family of Phantom Voices
Along with strange shadow forms, ghostly voices are also heard around the museum. Rather than talk to visitors, the ghosts of the Byers-Evans House seem content just chatting amongst themselves.
Most often, visitors and staff simply hear these conversations coming from other rooms. But when they go to investigate, all they find are empty spaces and silence. While most of the voices are said to be adults, some people report the sounds of children laughing and playing around the home as well.
When Hauntings Do House Work
It’s possible the Evans family phantoms still get work done around the Byers-Evans House. They certainly seem to be busy doing something. Doors around the house are known for swinging open and slamming closed. It’s as if a busy person was rushing around doing chores.
Along with that, pieces of furniture are sometimes found rearranged or pushed into odd areas of rooms. Could this be the work of the Evan women, still keeping their historic house in order from beyond the grave?
A Paranormal Portal at Byers Evans
It’s true that nobody knows who haunts the Byers-Evans House. Few people even make any claims to know. But, there’s one curious claim that suggests there might be more than just Evans family ghosts in the home.
Psychics and supposed sensitives who tour the house sometimes say there’s a powerful force in the house, like a spiritual portal.
They say this portal is the source of the home’s paranormal activity, allowing any kind of spirit to come and go at any time. This has never been firmly corroborated, nor can anyone be sure how such a thing is corroborated. But, the odd activity in the home suggests something is amiss.
Could it mean that there’s a spiritual portal? Or, is it just that the Byers-Evans House is its own portal to the past?
History and Hauntings on Display
at the Byers Evans House
Today, the Byers-Evans House’s main focus is women’s history. They host programs throughout the year to educate about the impact women have on history and the country.
Regular tours of the home itself are also offered. However, they cater to the historical far more than the haunting.
Ghosts aren’t the main attraction at the Byers-Evans House. But they’ve still become an undeniable part of the home’s story.
The Evans women defied a half-century of change to keep their home preserved. And through that work, they may have preserved their spirits within it.
