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MONTROSE COUNTY
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BedrockBEDROCK STORE Constructed in 1882, the Bedrock Store played an important role in the commercial history of the Paradox Valley. In the 1800s, it served the local ranching community as a general merchandise store and U.S. Post Office. As the only store within thirty miles, during the 1900s it also served those associated with local mining. The first floor walls are of uncoursed native stone, and the upper floor is faced with wood. A somewhat elaborate peaked cornice tops the facade. DOLORES RIVER BRIDGE Crossing the Dolores River in a remote location just east of Bedrock, the 1952 steel rigid connected Pennsylvania through truss structure’s single span runs for 129 feet. The bridge was designed by the Colorado Department of Highways, fabricated by Midwest Steel & Iron Works, and built by Gardner Construction Company. Never commonly used in Colorado, Pennsylvania trusses represented a refinement of the standard Pratt truss, both of which were pioneered by the railroads and later constructed to carry vehicular traffic. In essentially unaltered condition, it is a rare Colorado example of its type. Listed under Highway Bridges in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. CimarronD&RG NARROW GAUGE TRESTLE Bridge No. 239 formerly consisted of four spans on the Denver and
Rio Grande narrow gauge line through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
Only the relocated, decked Pratt truss span survives. The bridge,
constructed around 1881, was one of four necessary to allow trains
to traverse the canyon from Gunnison to Cimarron. Listed under
Railroads in Colorado, 1858-1948 Multiple Property Submission. CrawfordNORTH RIM ROAD 
Constructed over a period of several years (1934-1938), the five-mile road typifies
National Park Service landscape design projects undertaken during the Great Depression.
Taking advantage of a variety of New Deal programs such as the Public Works Administration
and Emergency Conservation Work for funding, Civilian Conservation Corps workers constructed
the road, stone retaining walls and culverts, and overlooks at some of the more prominent
scenic vistas in the park, applying National Park Service naturalistic design principles. MontroseBENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS LODGE 
Elements of various styles are represented to varying degrees in the 1927 Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Lodge on the building, including Mission Revival, Pueblo Deco, Gothic Revival, and even Classical Revival and Craftsman. Designed by locally known architect J.H. Antrobus, the building exhibits the eclectic elements typical of his design and seen on the nearby City Hall building. In addition to serving as the meeting place for the Elks for over forty years, the building was a center for community activities, hosting dinners, graduation ceremonies, and fundraising events. The bowling alley in the basement, no longer extant, provided entertainment to Lodge members. DENVER & RIO GRANDE DEPOT (Montrose County Historical Museum) The Mission Revival style depot provided both passenger and freight services at this important rail junction. The southern branch of the D&RG out of Montrose serviced Ouray and connected with the Rio Grande Southern at Ridgway. The eastern branch extended to Gunnison and Crested Butte. The 1912 building replaced an earlier depot. The property is associated with the Railroads in Colorado, 1858-1948 Multiple Property Submission. GUNNISON TUNNEL By 1894, Montrose farmer F.C. Lauzon had generated enough interest so that funds were secured to begin construction of the tunnel which would bring irrigation water from the Gunnison River to the arid farmlands of the Uncompahgre Valley. The bore was completed in July of 1909, and dedication ceremony attended by President William H. Taft were held on September 23, 1909. A major element of the Uncompahgre Reclamation Project, the tunnel is 5.8 miles in length, and at its deepest point runs approximately 2,200 feet beneath the dome of Vernal Mesa. J.V. LATHROP HOUSE Constructed in 1902, the 2½-story wood frame residence is set on a stone foundation. The Queen Anne style is clearly represented in its asymmetrical massing, multi-gable roof, projecting bays, decorative porches, and ornamented gable ends. The dwelling was constructed for the John Virgil Lathrop family. Lathrop came to Montrose in 1890 and operated Lathrop Hardware until 1916. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF MONTROSE Designed by Colorado Springs architect Thomas P. Barber, the large brick building is a good local example of the Romanesque Revival style. Much of the Akron Plan interior remains intact, and a mix of religious and secular stained glass windows are found throughout the building. Construction began in 1909 and was completed in 1920. A compatible 1991 addition, designed by Montrose architect Patrik Davis, is joined to the 1920 building by a narrow connector. MONTROSE CITY HALL The two-story Art Deco style building includes a mix of yellow and red brick in its patterned walls. At the time of its construction in 1926, it was designed to also house the city’s library. MONTROSE COUNTY COURTHOUSE Constructed in 1922, using locally quarried sandstone, the roof of this three-story Classical Revival building is covered with red tile. Denver architect William Norman Bowman is credited with the design. MONTROSE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION BUILDING The 1919 building is associated with the development of vocational agricultural education on the Western Slope. This simple wood frame building was constructed for the expressed purpose of housing agricultural education programs.
The 1910 Montrose Fire Department No. 1 is important for its long-standing association with fire protection in the City of Montrose. Serving a critical need at the beginning of the twentieth century for Montrose’s quickly expanding population, the building housed the fire department for the next seven decades, offering the community both fire protection and educational assistance. MONTROSE MASONIC TEMPLE, LODGE NO. 63 
Designed in the Classical Revival style, the 1911 building is significant for its long association with the social history of the Masons and the City of Montrose. The building, with its monumental Tuscan columns, stone balcony, and shaped parapet, is the only fraternal lodge in the city done in the Classical Revival style. In use as a Masonic Lodge for nearly seven decades, the building was also the center of social activity, hosting a variety of formals, church services, and other social events over the years. The building is topped by a beautiful domed stained glass skylight that illuminates the former Lodge room. MONTROSE POST OFFICE The 1931 building is an excellent example of Renaissance Revival styling. Rigidly symmetrical, the structure has a massive appearance. Listed under U.S. Post Offices in Colorado Thematic Resource. SHAVANO VALLEY ROCK ART SITE The site contains numerous rock art panels that date from at least 1000 B.C. through approximately 1881. Rock art research in western Colorado utilized the panels at this site to define rock art traditions and styles and to interpret cultural continuity and change within the region’s prehistory. In addition to being of scientific interest, the panels are important examples of aboriginal artistic expression. SHERMAN AND ROSS BLOCK This two-story, two-part commercial building was constructed in 1910 at the center of downtown Montrose. Perhaps Montrose’s best preserved commercial building, it has continuously housed a variety of businesses over the past ninety years. The central entry, flanked by storefronts with recessed entries, remains intact and leads to second-story apartments. SILESCA RANGER STATION 
The 1937 Combination Building and Barn building types, known collectively
as the Silesca Ranger Station, was part of the unprecedented expansion
of the Forest Service in the 1930s. The expansion largely resulted
from Depression era New Deal programs, specifically the Civilian
Conservation Corps, that provided much of the construction labor
for the erection or upgrading of ranger and guard stations within
the national forests. The buildings typify Forest Service administrative
buildings of the Rocky Mountain Region during the CCC era. The Combination
Building is one of only two remaining examples of Forest Service
Phase III Rustic style architecture in the Grand Mesa/ Uncompahgre/
Gunnison National Forest. THOMAS B. TOWNSEND HOUSE The 2½ story brick residence was constructed in 1882 by Thomas B. Townsend, an Englishman who moved to the area to pursue investments in mines near Silverton. Townsend was also a co-founder of the Montrose County Bank. The residence includes elements of the Queen Anne style such as an asymmetrical plan, a complex roof line, a projecting bay window, and detailed wood trim. UNCOMPAHGRE VALLEY WATER USERS ASSOCIATION OFFICE Constructed in 1905, the Water Users’ Association has occupied the building since 1932. As such, it is important for its association with one of the first projects undertaken by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Uncompahgre Reclamation Project. The two-story wood frame building is located in a residential neighborhood and is a good local example of the Foursquare building type. UTE MEMORIAL SITE The site includes approximately thirteen acres of Ute Chief Ouray’s original ranch lands. Chief Ouray played a significant role in attempts to maintain peaceful relations between Washington, D.C. and the Colorado Utes. The Colorado Historical Society operates a museum facility on the site. NuclaCOTTONWOOD CAVE Occupied as early as 270BC, this large rockshelter is the site of the earliest dated corn found in Colorado. TABEGUACHE CAVE This rockshelter produced an early tree-ring record. Tabeguache Cave is also associated with Clarence Thomas Hurst, a significant figure in Colorado archaeology, who co-founded the Colorado Archaeological Society and Southwestern Lore. TABEGUACHE PUEBLO A single house ruin, occupied about AD1100 and then abandoned, Tabeguache Pueblo is a good example of dispersed Pueblo settlement. OlathePEA GREEN COMMUNITY HALL Completed in 1927, the one-story front gabled roof building has log walls that have been stuccoed, and there is a full length shed roof addition on the south. The building still served as the center of community life in this agricultural area of northwestern Montrose County. UravanDOLORES CAVE Occupied from at least 600BC to AD1400, the cave yielded a corn cob dating to about AD1500, a remarkably late date indicating that prior to European contact with the area, some groups continued to grow corn in western Colorado after the Southwestern "Anasazi" fluorescence. HANGING FLUME The approximately six mile long flume is a three-sided wooden structure attached to the walls of the Dolores and San Miguel Canyons, at a level of 150 to 400 feet above the Dolores and San Miguel Rivers. It was constructed in 1889-1890 to bring water to the Lone Tree Placer mine. Subsequent poor economic conditions resulted in its circa 1900 abandonment. JOE JR. MILL AND CAMP Uravan helped give birth to the nuclear age when in 1912 the Joe Jr. Mill began processing carnotite ore into its base elements of radium, vanadium, and uranium. The remaining camp boarding house, store, and recreation hall help convey the important history of the people behind the industry. TABEGUACHE CAVE II This large and deep rockshelter, occupied as early as AD600 to perhaps AD1500, yielded brownware ceramics, provoking questions as to whether the Pueblos abandoned their territory or were assimilated into a new population and how these changes related to the Ute presence in the area. |
State Register 8/8/2001, National Register 10/12/2001, 5MN.5
National Register 4/11/2003, 5MN1653