The Underhill Museum (Historical Society of Idaho Springs)
1416 Miner Street

James Underhill came to Idaho Springs in 1897 and was a prominent Colorado surveyor and pioneer mining engineer. He graduated from Harvard in 1894, earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Colorado in 1905 and received his Ph.D. in 1906. He wrote several textbooks on surveying and was an associate professor of mining at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden for 27 years. Many of the city plats of Idaho Springs were surveyed by Underhill.

He constructed 1416 Miner Street in 1912 as a combination office and home with two Miner Street entrances, one for business calls and the other for his social visits. Mr. Underhill lived in this building with his wife, Lucy, until his death in 1954 at the age of 83. Lucy continued to live in their home until 1963, when she deeded the building to the Idaho Springs Library for use as a museum. She hoped this would keep the house from becoming a tavern. Lucy died in 1969 at the age of 94.

The Underhill Building has been the home of the Historical Society of Idaho Springs and museum since 1963.

The decorative brick detailing on the upper façade is called “Cornish work” by local bricklayers, and this probably stems from the masonry work performed by the early settlers from Cornwall.

1416 Miner Street in Idaho Springs, Colorado