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TELLER COUNTY |
Cripple CreekCRIPPLE CREEK HISTORIC DISTRICT The Cripple Creek mining district, originally pronounced worthless by mining experts, produced an estimated $400,000,000 in gold. At its peak, there were over five hundred mines. When fires in the late 1880s destroyed most the town’s original wood buildings, they were replaced with structures of stone and brick, many of which remain in place. The property is associated with the Mining Industry in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. FlorissantFLORISSANT SCHOOL Built in 1887, this wood frame rural schoolhouse with an L-shaped floor plan received an addition in 1889. Its enclosed entry is topped by a bell tower with a pyramidal roof that includes flared eaves. After the school was closed in 1960, the local Grange purchased the building. Listed under Rural School Buildings in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. FOUR MILE COMMUNITY BUILDING The simple one-story wood frame building sits on a rubble stone foundation. Walls are covered with asphalt siding in a tan brick pattern, and the front gabled roof is steeply pitched. Members of the surrounding community constructed the building in 1911 to be used for dances, fairs, meetings, holiday programs, picnics, and other social events. It remains in use as a community center. HORNBEK HOUSE Adaline Hornbek was one of the early settlers of the region west of Pikes Peak, homesteading the property in 1878. Located within Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, the house is one of the best surviving examples of domestic log architecture in the Rocky Mountain Region. The walls of the 1½-story dwelling are of massive squared logs with V-notched joints. The steeply pitched gable roof is cedar shingled. The house appears to have been constructed in three stages, with its wings resulting in an irregular floor plan. TWIN CREEK RANCH The ranch is associated with the early settlement and agricultural development of the Florissant area. The oldest structures date to the 1875 homesteading of the ranch. The property contains intact agricultural support buildings utilized during the 1875-1945 period as part of the farming and ranching heritage along the Twin Creek drainage. GoldfieldCOLORADO SPRINGS & CRIPPLE CREEK DISTRICT RAILWAY/CORLEY MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY Constructed in 1900, the route began as the Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District Railway. Colorado Springs coal mine owner and cattle breeder W.D. Corley converted the abandoned rail line during the early 1920s into an auto toll road known as the Corley Mountain Highway. Referred to as the Gold Camp Road since it was taken over by the U.S. Forest Service in 1939, this scenic route extends into El Paso County. The historic origins of the rail line and the toll road are evident along the route, and it continues to be a popular attraction for local residents and tourists. GOLDFIELD CITY HALL & FIRE STATION The simple two-story wood frame building has a flat roof. The community erected the building in 1899. By 1900, Goldfield was the third largest town in the booming Cripple Creek mining district. The building served as a city hall and fire station until 1940. It is the only remaining public building in what is now virtually a ghost town. The property is associated with the Mining Industry in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. VictorINDEPENDENCE MINE AND MILL The Independence Mine and Mill is located on the south slope of Battle Mountain at an altitude of approximately 9,780 feet. In 1891, Winfield Scott Stratton made the first major strike of gold in the Cripple Creek/Victor area. The most intensive period of development of the mine coincided with the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and the restoration of the gold standard of currency. By 1895, it was the premier mine in the area. Stratton, also noted for his civic and charitable contributions, remained active as a leader in the local mining industry until his death in 1902. The mill, often referred to as the Peck Mill, began operating in 1908 and closed in 1928. The headframe, orehouse, and powderhouse are among the structures and buildings remaining on the site. The property is associated with the Mining Industry in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. MIDLAND TERMINAL RAILROAD DEPOT The Midland Terminal Railroad was one of three that served this major mining district. The railroad arrived in 1894, and the depot opened for passenger and freight service the following year. The railroad brought ores down to Colorado Springs and Pueblo for processing and sustained the mining community by transporting necessities and luxuries. The sturdy brick depot contains features common to its type and period of construction including the wide overhanging eaves, the central bay office window, and the large freight doors. Passenger service ended in 1943. Listed under Railroads in Colorado, 1858-1948 Multiple Property Submission. VICTOR DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT The district contains many relatively unaltered and contiguous commercial, public, fraternal and religious buildings of late 19th and early 20th century design. They form the commercial core of an important mining community that composed part of the Cripple Creek-Victor Mining District. The area is one of the richest in gold deposits in the state, and it played a prominent role in the development of Colorado’s mining industry. Downtown Victor still reflects the great wealth and prosperity that resulted from the gold mining operations. The property is associated with the Mining Industry in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. VICTOR HOTEL Completed in 1899, the large four-story beige and tan brick commercial building sits on a prominent corner lot in downtown Victor. A deep bracketed cornice and broken arch window openings at the fourth story level provide architectural interest. The building, sometimes referred to as the Bank Block, was constructed for Frank and Harry Woods, who operated a bank in a portion of the first floor retail space. Woodland ParkGLEN COVE LODGE Glen Cove Lodge is associated with the development of automobile related tourist facilities along Pikes Peak Highway. The property has been owned by the U.S. Forest Service since 1927. The majority of the building’s current Rustic style appearance dates to an expansion project designed and constructed by the Forest Service during the late 1930s and early 1940s. MANITOU EXPERIMENTAL FOREST STATION Built between 1937 and 1939, this collection of six architecturally significant sandstone buildings represents some of the finest Depression-era construction in Colorado. As one of only two experimental forest stations in the state, the property is also significant in the areas of conservation and agriculture. |