 |
LAS ANIMAS COUNTY |
AguilarFIRST STATE BANK OF AGUILAR / GIANELLA BUILDING 
The building housed the First State Bank of Aguilar, which was founded in
1910 and served as the town’s only banking institution until 1927. The building
is an example of a two-part commercial block with horizontal divisions into two
distinct zones—its large display windows on the street level indicating the public
spaces, with the smaller windows on the upper level suggesting more private spaces.
The building is one of only two stone commercial buildings in Aguilar. BransonPLEASANT VALLEY SCHOOL 
Constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938, the Pleasant
Valley School presents an important visual record of the federal relief
programs administered in Colorado’s eastern plains during the Great
Depression. Though the dire economic conditions of the Depression affected
all of Colorado, drought and dust storms hit the agricultural-based economy
of the Eastern Plains especially hard. President Franklin Roosevelt’s New
Deal legislative agenda to rescue the United States from the Great Depression
included the creation of an unprecedented number of policies, programs, and
agencies to provide relief, employment, conserve natural resources, and assist
in construction of public works—all with the greater goal of stimulating the
devastated economy. Criticized by some as make-work boondoggles, WPA projects
such as the construction of the school provided much-needed employment in an
isolated, rural area of Las Animas County where little other work was available.
The stonework displays the labor-intensive, hand-craftsmanship associated with
the WPA and often referred to as
WPA Rustic style. The property is associated
with the
New Deal Resources on Colorado’s Eastern Plains and Rural School Buildings in Colorado Multiple Property Submissions. (2007 photograph) CokedaleCOKEDALE HISTORIC DISTRICT Cokedale is a significant example of a company-owned coal camp and is associated with the coal mining and coke industry that served as the predominant basis of the southern Colorado economy around 1900. While most similar coal camps were dismantled as mines ceased operation in the Las Animas-Huerfano district beginning after World War I, Cokedale continued to thrive as a company town until 1946. Constructed in 1906-1907, it was long heralded as a model camp, with housing, educational and recreational facilities provided for its inhabitants by their employer, the American Smelting and Refining Company. Most of the houses, as well as the public and commercial buildings, have survived essentially intact. Also important are the surviving coke ovens. The two rows of double sided units are the largest surviving group of coke ovens in the state. The property is associated with the Mining Industry in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. KimKIM SCHOOLS 
Three stone buildings, a gymnasium flanked by an elementary and
a high school, represent the work of several New Deal relief programs
administered in eastern Colorado. Constructed over an eight-year period,
the buildings provided employment in Kim during much of the Great
Depression. Construction on the gymnasium began in December 1933 as
a Civil Works Administration project.
WHITE SCHOOL 
Built in 1921 and expanded in 1936 under the Works Progress Administration
(WPA), the school exemplifies one-room schools constructed in eastern Las
Animas County during the homesteading boom of the 1910s and 1920s. The school
addition and its adjacent WPA-constructed barn, intended to store coal and shelter
student’s horses, reflect Depression era New Deal efforts to improve rural
education facilities in eastern Las Animas County. The WPA constructed new
schools and barns for several rural school districts and repaired the facilities
of many others. Constructed for a small school district with minimal matching
funds, the project typifies WPA efforts to improve education and to help small
communities with limited resources. The buildings are good examples of WPA Rustic
design applied to a simple barn and a school addition. The similarity of the
stonework of the original building and the addition shows how WPA construction
drew strongly on local building traditions. The stonework displays the labor-intensive,
hand-craftsmanship associated with the WPA and often referred to as WPA Rustic
style. The work crew quarried and finished all the stone. The property is
associated with the New Deal
Resources on Colorado’s Eastern Plains and Rural
School Buildings in Colorado Multiple Property Submissions. (2007 photograph) LudlowLUDLOW TENT COLONY SITE The 40-acre parcel comprises the site of the Ludlow tent colony and represents the event known as the Ludlow Massacre. On April 20, 1914, after shots were fired between the striking mine workers at the Ludlow colony and the Colorado militia, fires destroyed the entire tent colony. Two women and eleven children suffocated in a cellar under one of the tents. The Ludlow Massacre is considered a major event in American labor history. The site also includes a monument erected in 1918 by the United Mine Workers of America, who own and maintain the property. The property is associated with the Mining Industry in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. MadridBRIDGE OVER BURRO CAÑON Completed in 1936, the bridge consists of three skewed semicircular arches with multiplates fabricated by the Hardesty Manufacturing Company. It features rusticated stone facing and grapevined mortar joints, trademarks of Works Progress Administration workmanship in southeastern Colorado. It is Colorado’s only WPA bridge of skewed construction employing a multiplate liner. Listed under Highway Bridges in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. RuxtonCOLORADO MILLENNIAL SITE / HACKBERRY SPRING / BLOODY SPRINGS This site with its multiple prehistoric and historic components is one of a few known sites in Colorado that has been identified with such an extended period of occupation—possibly 7,000 years. The rock art is notable for its quantity, range of styles, and well-preserved context. It is also the 1868 location of a 7th Cavalry fight with Cheyennes, the last historically documented skirmish involving Plains Indians and the military in southeastern Colorado. TrincheraTRINCHERA CAVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISTRICT The district is significant for its potential to yield important information regarding prehistoric and historic peoples. Nomadic hunter-gatherer bands used the area from circa 1250 B.C. through A.D. 1725, followed by more intermittent occupations into the 19th century. TrinidadAULTMAN HOUSE 
Oliver E. Aultman commissioned the construction of this house for
his family in 1905. A highly successful commercial photographer, Aultman
documented life and culture in southern Colorado from the 1890s to the
1950s. His portraits reflect the extraordinary ethnic and socio-economic
diversity of the area. His studio was purportedly the oldest established
studio in Colorado operated continuously by one man. This “pioneer Trinidad
photographer” resided here until his death in 1953. The house is a well-preserved
example of a Queen Anne residence in Trinidad. Characteristics of this style
can be seen in its asymmetrical composition, steeply pitched hipped roof and
wraparound porch. It has a distinctive, large, two-story tower with a
conical roof. (Photograph 2005) BACA HOUSE (Trinidad History Museum) Built in 1870, the interior of this adobe house blends Hispanic folk art with Victorian furnishings. It is now operated as part of the Trinidad History Museum by the Colorado Historical Society. FRANK G. BLOOM HOUSE (Trinidad History Museum) This large, mansard roofed Victorian house was built for cattle baron Frank Bloom and his wife Sarah in 1882. It is now operated as part of the Trinidad History Museum by the Colorado Historical Society. CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY The building is one of 36 Carnegie libraries constructed in Colorado. Kansas architect John G. Haskell’s Neo-Classical design includes symmetrically balanced windows and a dominant central porch entry. His use of round-arched window openings with decorative moldings is a distinctive variation on the style. CORAZON de TRINIDAD DISTRICT The “Heart of Trinidad” embodies some of the best examples of Late Victorian commercial architecture in Colorado. Dating back to 1876, Trinidad quickly became the financial, retail and cultural hub of southern Colorado with the development of nearby coal fields and the arrival of the railroad. While many fine old Late Victorian homes are scattered through the town, the nomination focuses on a few streets in the very heart of the city and discusses 55 buildings, the majority of which are located within the limited boundaries of the original townsite. Much of the downtown area was included to demonstrate the strong visual impact imparted by the town as a whole. East Street School 
Constructed in 1919 to serve the growing primary school population in an expanding neighborhood some distance east of Trinidad’s center, the East Street School remained in operation for over 80 years. The prolific architectural firm of Isaac H. Rapp and William M. Rapp, responsible for numerous commercial, religious and residential buildings in Trinidad, designed the brick building. The Rapp brothers designed five public schools in Trinidad of which only two remain. Unlike their previous schools which were multi-storied contained buildings, the architects created a sprawling one-story layout inspired from California. East Street School represents an innovation in school design that would become popular after World War II. The school reflects the Arts and Crafts movement in its one-story design, slightly stepped parapets, wall pilasters, and the use of contrasting darker brick for stringcourses and two-dimensional “strap-work” ornamentation. East Street School represents the diversity of styles in which Rapp & Rapp designed. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH This 1890 Late Victorian sandstone building, sometimes described as a “medieval fantasy,” shows great attention to detail and excellent stone work. It is the second commission of record for the architectural firm of Charles W. Bulger and Isaac Hamilton Rapp. Although short lived, the firm designed several fine Trinidad buildings. FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH The 1922 church was one of the last buildings designed by the prominent Trinidad based architectural firm of Rapp, Rapp, and Hendrickson. The Mediterranean-inspired structure exhibits classical detailing in the Roman Doric Order used in the entablature and main entry. FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
Constructed in 1911, the First Methodist Episcopal Church is a good local example of the Romanesque Revival Style. Its metal-clad central dome is a distinctive feature within Trinidad’s architectural heritage, as is its yellow brick construction. Dome roofs are not often seen in Romanesque Revival churches in Colorado and red brick was the material of choice for the majority of Trinidad’s buildings. The church reflects elements of the Romanesque Revival style as seen in its overall massing, the use of the semi-circular arch for window and door openings, various roof shapes, crenellated parapets, and square towers flanking the facade. The building also reflects important elements of the Akron Plan, utilized by Protestant denominations during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Despite some interior alterations, characteristics of the Akron Plan are still visible in this church, including the sloping floor, the curved pews set on the diagonal in a square open nave, a large undulating balcony, the corner elevated chancel, and folding doors that enlarge the nave. Colorado Springs architect Thomas B. Barber is credited with the design of the building. Prominent early members included Oliver and Otis Aultman, well-known local photographers who had their studio across the street from the church. JAFFA OPERA HOUSE / HAUSMAN DRUG The two-story brick and sandstone Italianate style building, with its elaborate bracketed cornice, was one of the first buildings in the area to make use of the high quality sandstone from nearby quarries. Constructed in 1883, the building was the cultural heart of the city for the next twenty years. The top stage, opera, and vaudeville troupes touring throughout the western part of the country performed here. NICHOLS HOUSE One of the finest residences erected in early-20th-century Trinidad, the noted architectural firm of Isaac Hamilton and William Mason Rapp designed the Nichols House. The most influential architects in Trinidad, the Rapp brothers designed many of the city’s highly significant buildings, including churches, commercial blocks, and residences. This 1904 house is believed to be the firm’s most distinguished residential commission, noted for the quality of its stonework, the multiple shingled gables, and a substantial wrap-around porch. The building is representative of transitional eclectic architecture combining Late Victorian influences with elements from early-20th-century styles. OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL CHURCH 
The work of the prominent architectural firm of
Isaac H. and William M. Rapp, the 1907 building is one of only two churches in Trinidad identified
as designed by the Rapp brothers’ firm. A well-preserved example of
Romanesque
Revival style religious construction in Trinidad, Mount Carmel is also
significant for its association with the local Italian American community.
The church served a predominantly Italian American population and focused its
efforts on the Catholics in the western and southwestern parts of the city. Its
churchgoers were primarily families headed by workers employed in area coal mines,
farms, and railroads. The Italian lodge met in the church, and its members included
the priest and the entire Mount Carmel band. A second, smaller ethnic group served
by the church consisted of Hispanics or Mexican Americans. (2008 photograph) RATON PASS Raton Pass provided the shortest and most practical route from the upper Arkansas Valley to New Mexico. Both a barrier and a gateway, the Raton Mountains symbolized the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail. Although not highly significant in the routine progress of trail development, the Mountain Branch and its most important feature, Raton Pass, played a significant role in military history. Kearney’s Army of the West used this route in 1846 on its way to the conquest of New Mexico. In 1862, Colorado Volunteers poured through Raton Pass on their way to Glorieta Pass, where they defeated troops of the Confederate Army. REILLY CANYON BRIDGE P-18-U AND P-18-7 The bridge spans Reilly Creek as part of an abandoned segment of State Highway 12. It includes three separate spans over the creek and a large single-span overpass for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Constructed in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration, the bridge with its rock-faced masonry and beaded mortar joints is characteristic of WPA construction in southeastern Colorado. TRINIDAD POST OFFICE The well-preserved building, constructed in 1920, is the purest example of the Beaux-Arts inspired styling reflected in Colorado’s post offices. Listed under U.S. Post Offices in Colorado Thematic Resource.
Constructed in 1890, the eclectic building almost defies architectural
classification. Primarily Victorian Gothic (as evident by its steeply pitched
roof, pointed arched windows, and polychromatic exterior of contrasting materials),
the church includes elements from several other styles of the Late Victorian period.
The prominent, albeit short-lived, Trinidad architectural firm of Bulger & Rapp
designed the church. Although their partnership lasted only a few years, it resulted
in many fine buildings that are an important part of the city’s architectural heritage.
Charles Bulger & Isaac Hamilton Rapp designed four houses of worship in Trinidad. This
was the firm’s second commission for a religious building, and it illustrates their
talent for designing unusual buildings epitomizing the eclecticism of the Victorian Age. VillegreenROURKE RANCH HISTORIC DISTRICT Rourke Ranch played a significant role in the settlement and agricultural development of the Purgatoire River area and continues to reflect the interaction of its Hispanic and Anglo-American settlers. Beginning in the early 1880s, brothers Eugene and James Rourke began acquiring the lands of departing Hispanic farmers and sheep growers, eventually amassing one of the largest cattle ranches in the area. The district includes the site of Eugene Rourke’s original 1875 ranchstead, which was abandoned in favor of a new ranch headquarters after a flood in 1904. The collection of intact buildings and structures at the new ranchstead date from the first decades of the 20th century and reflect a range of construction techniques and traditions, including the use of adobe, horizontal and vertical logs, and stone as building materials. TORRES CAVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE A 1977 excavation resulted in the analysis of over 600 artifacts that revealed the site had functioned from approximately 350 A.D. to 1400 A.D. as a hunting and foraging station. |
It was completed in the spring
of 1935 after being transferred to the Federal Emergency Relief
Administration
ZION’S GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH