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DOUGLAS COUNTY |
Castle RockCASTLE ROCK DEPOT (Castle Rock Historical Museum) The 1875 building is a rare example of a stone depot constructed by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Castle Rock quarries yielded the high quality rhyolite stone used in the depot’s construction. A private owner moved the building to its present location in 1970 to serve as a private residence. The depot now serves as a museum. The property is associated with the Railroads in Colorado, 1858-1948 Multiple Property Submission.. CASTLE ROCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Completed in 1897, the two-story building includes a round arched entrance, bell cast roof, bracketed eaves, and tower. It was built of locally quarried rhyolite in colors ranging from pink and tan to gray. Despite several additions, it is the town’s finest example of stone construction and the area’s best illustration of the Italian Villa style. FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF DOUGLAS COUNTY The 1904 building employs rhyolite, an igneous rock quarried in the Castle Rock area, on its two street-side facades. Similar to granite in appearance and composition, rhyolite was widely used in the Denver area. Denver architect George Louis Bettcher designed the building. It represents the only known example of an architect designed, Romanesque Revival style building in Castle Rock. BENJAMIN HAMMER HOUSE The Italianate building was constructed in 1887 for Benjamin Hammer. One of Castle Rock’s earliest stone houses, the colorful local rhyolite stone was quarried from the Castle Rock district. The house is embellished with dressed segmental arches with keystones, reflecting the skill of the stonemason. KEYSTONE HOTEL The 1901 two-story commercial building, along with its 1910 addition served as a social hub of the community. For many years it was the only hotel in town, and a saloon or restaurant continuously occupied the corner location from 1901 until the 1960s. The building is a good example of the use of locally quarried rhyolite. FranktownCASTLEWOOD DAM Castlewood Dam was built to provide irrigation for the agricultural development of Douglas County. Constructed upon a poor foundation, it became controversial shortly after its construction in 1890. In August of 1933, the dam collapsed sending a wall of water 1/2 mile wide and 15 feet high through Denver. This disaster resulted in the development of a comprehensive flood control program for Cherry Creek that led to the construction of the Cherry Creek Dam and reservoir. FRANKTOWN CAVE Restricted information PIKE’S PEAK GRANGE NO. 163 This one-story clapboard-sided building represents a vernacular style of architecture-a simple, front gabled, wood frame construction that was built throughout the state beginning in 1860. Constructed in 1909, the building reflects the importance of the Grange movement in Douglas County. ROCK RIDGE RANCH BARN The circa 1880 barn is a rare surviving example of pegged, post and beam construction. A common construction method in the 18th and early 19th centuries involving skilled craftsmen, the mass production of wire nails after 1900 brought an end to pegged construction. LarkspurAMERICAN FEDERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS HEADQUARTERS The cluster of buildings serves as the headquarters of the corporate arm of a Co--Masonic fraternal order. This organization is associated with early 20th century efforts to facilitate bargaining for better working conditions, and Co-Masonry reflected the trend toward the further emancipation of women. The group purchased the land in 1916 in order to establish a headquarters, a retirement place for coal miners, and a home for orphans and widows. The focal point of the complex is the Administration Building, constructed in 1924. BEN QUICK RANCH & FORT Although there are no visible remains, it is the site of Fort Washington, a log stockade that enclosed a homestead cabin and a large well. Built during the Indian Wars of 1868, it was a strong defense point for the entire West Plum Creek Valley. A later construction, the 1885 1½-story dwelling, was built utilizing locally gathered native stone and is a good representative of Douglas County stone architecture for the period. GLEN GROVE SCHOOL This simple 1910 wood frame rural schoolhouse was a third generation building and remained in operation into the early 1950s. JOHN KINNER HOUSE Located on one of the earliest ranches in the West Plum Creek Valley, the 1896 two-story building with its steeply pitched hipped roof was constructed of rubble sandstone that was hand quarried by John Kinner and his sons from a nearby field. LONE TREE SCHOOL The 1922 school exemplifies rural educational methods as dominated by a pattern of small one-room schoolhouses. REGINALD SINCLAIRE HOUSE The home is a finely crafted example of the Pueblo Revival Style constructed in 1932 during the style’s peak of national popularity. It is one of the few large scale Pueblo Revival style residences in the state. Made to resemble a Native American pueblo, it is built of cinderblocks covered with an earth-colored stucco instead of the traditional adobe. SPRING VALLEY SCHOOL / THE SCHOOL HOUSE Constructed circa 1874, this simple wood frame rural schoolhouse has an enclosed entry. Listed under Rural School Buildings in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. LittletonLAMB SPRING This archaeological site contains evidence of hunting and game processing that may pre-date 9,500BC, a period before the earliest well accepted archaeological evidence of human activity in the Americas. Listed under Prehistoric Paleo-Indian Cultures of the Colorado Plains Multiple Property Submission. LouviersLOUVIERS VILLAGE The community, begun by the Du Pont Company in 1906, and occupied starting in 1908, provided employee housing and support facilities for the adjacent Louviers Works dynamite plant. Du Pont carefully planned, built, and managed the village. In addition to housing for workers and management, the community included a school, church, hotel, parks and a ball field, and a large community club. The community remained under Du Pont ownership until 1962, when the company sold both the village and the dynamite plant. LOUVIERS VILLAGE CLUB 
Constructed in 1917 by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, the club served as a social and recreational center for the company town of Louviers. Du Pont endeavored to establish a sense of community for its employees. The Craftsman-style club contained an assembly hall, a “women’s talk room,” a grocery store and a post office. It also boasted a two-lane maple-floored bowling alley with hand-loaded pin setters, thought to be the oldest continuously-used bowling alley in Colorado. Du Pont ran the club until 1963, when it leased the facility to the town. The plant closed in the mid-1980s, and the club now belongs to the county.
ParkerRUTH MEMORIAL METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH A variant of the Gothic Revival style, the 1913 clapboard church is a good example of the type of building that was constructed by early pioneers for their worship services. A center of non-sectarian religious activities, it was the first church built in Parker and is the only unaltered church building remaining within the town limits. TALLMAN-NEWLIN HOUSE Originally built in 1866 as a log cabin by John and Elizabeth Tallman, the house received a new look by the turn of century while under the ownership of William Gilpin Newlin and his wife, Elizabeth. The house exemplifies log construction "updated" by the application of wood siding. Relocated to save it from demolition, it will be used as an educational tool to illustrate early local building practices and materials. SedaliaBEAR CAÑON AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT In the early 1860s, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad’s first stop south of Denver was at Plum Creek, now known as Sedalia. Settlement in and around Plum Creek eventually spread along the Bear Cañon corridor from Denver to Colorado Springs. Primarily settled by people of English descent, many buildings of a public nature, such as schools and churches remain intact. CHEROKEE RANCH The ranch is a diverse property containing four 19th and 20th century building groups; a 20th century replica of a 15th century Scottish castle; historic roadways, spectacular landforms and views, pastures and corrals, a wildlife preserve; and an important prehistoric archaeological site. The 1924 castle was designed by Burnham Hoyt and constructed by Cornish stonemasons from stone quarried on the site. CHURCH OF ST. PHILIP-IN-THE-FIELD/BEAR CAÑON CEMETERY Built in 1872, the white clapboard church is surrounded on the north, east, and south sides by the cemetery. With its steeply pitched roof and pointed arched windows, it is a well preserved example of Gothic Revival architecture executed by local craftsman. DANIELS PARK Daniels Park provides panoramic views of the entire Front Range. Originally a working ranch, several buildings representative of early 20th century rural architecture remain on the site. Denver architect Jules J.B. Benedict designed the early 1920s picnic shelter. Listed under Denver Mountain Parks Multiple Property Submission. DEVILS HEAD LOOKOUT At 9,748 feet, the Devils Head Lookout sits on the highest point of the Rampart Range, the first and eastern most part of the Rocky Mountains. The site is long associated with the conservation efforts of the US Forest Service in Colorado. In continuous use since 1912, the site is the last full-time lookout in Colorado. Devils Head was also the duty station of the first female fire lookout in America. Helen Dowe spent three seasons as the lookout from 1919-1921. INDIAN PARK SCHOOL This simple, wood frame rural schoolhouse operated from 1884 to 1959. Listed under Rural School Buildings in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. SANTA FE RAILWAY WATER TANK / SEDALIA WATER TANK Constructed in 1906, the 140,000 gallon steel tank measures 24 feet in diameter and 43 feet in height. Around 1900, railroads began using steel tanks to replace the elevated wood tanks that provided water for coal-fired steam locomotives. Utilized by the Santa Fe Railway until 1950, this tank is an early example of the evolving technology and is believed to be one of the last surviving steel railroad water tanks in the state. Listed under Railroads in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. WatertonROXBOROUGH STATE PARK ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISTRICT The district is significant for its diversity and abundance of prehistoric sites dating from the early Archaic period (circa 5000 BC) through the early ceramic period (circa AD 1000). |
Douglas County was unable to contemplate comprehensive rehabilitation
of the building until receiving four State Historical Fund grants
totaling almost $500,000, which made this project possible. During
the last five years, preservation contractors restored the main
meeting room, repaired and replaced windows, removed a non-historic
drop ceiling, restored exterior woodwork and masonry, restored the
bowling alley and added ADA-compliant access to the building. The
club building again hosts public and private events while continuing
to foster a sense of community. For more information see the
Along US Hwy. 85 west of the junction with Colo. Hwy. 67