Brothers A. Everett and George C. Williams moved to Colorado from Ohio in 1951 to seek their fortune. Forming Williams High Country Homes, they built over 1,500 homes in Boulder and the Denver area. Now Melody Homes is one of the state’s largest builders. To finance construction, they purchased Guardian Savings and Loan in 1956 and became the first to give away premiums to depositors. The company grew to become World Savings. In 1963, they organized First Westland National Bank, which became FirstBanks in 1979.
In 1961, Everett and George Williams traded a ranch they owned in Steamboat Springs for some vacant land on Gunbarrel Hill, northeast of the City of Boulder, CO. They had moved to Boulder ten years earlier and had made careers of developing large tracts of land and building affordable homes for families. They each built homes for their own families in Gunbarrel. They planned to retire from the development business, settle down, and enjoy a quiet life in the country. In 1962, City of Boulder Manager Bob Turner came to them with a proposition. The City was attempting to implement its “Spokes of the Wheel” plan whereby it could control the expansion and development of its boundaries along specific corridors or “spokes.” Those spokes were North Broadway, the Longmont Diagonal, Arapahoe Road, Baseline Road, and Marshall Road. The City had another objective as well. They shared the golf course on Arapahoe Road with the Boulder Country Club. The Williams brothers examined this idea with planners working for both the City of Boulder and Boulder County. Bob Turner endorsed the idea of a golf course surrounded by a residential community and guaranteed the continued support of its development by the City of Boulder. The key element of this support was the City’s offer to furnish water and sewer service to the Gunbarrel area. The Williams brothers formed the Boulder Valley Water and Sanitation District to accomplish this goal. They financed the construction of water mains from Walnut Street to Gunbarrel Hill. Then, with the financial support of the Williams brothers, the District was able to issue bonds for the construction of a water treatment plant and a sewer system. By 1963, the next step was to persuade the Boulder Country Club to move from Arapahoe Road to Gunbarrel Hill. The Williams brothers would donate the land, the water rights, and money to build the clubhouse and a 27 hole golf course. The Country Club would own and operate the new golf course while the City of Boulder would retain exclusive rights to the old course on Arapahoe Road. The country club agreed (Editor’s Credit – The Gunbarrel material for this summary history was taken from a letter to Boulder City Council Member Spenser Havlick from George Williams dated 28-Aug-1986.)
In 1964 George and Everett Williams donated 70 acres of land in southeast Boulder to CU to be used for student housing. This complex was named Williams Village.