ROUTT COUNTY
Columbine
64505 Routt County Rd. 129, Clark vicinity
Columbine was established in 1881 to provide housing and provisions for
the nearby miners at Hahns Peak. James R. Caron emigrated from Canada to
Columbine with his wife Martha in 1896. He constructed a post office, then
purchased an existing store and moved its contents into his new Columbine
Mercantile building in 1898. He served as Columbine’s postmaster for 31 years,
as well as justice of the peace and coroner.
Columbine functioned as both a major way stop and a destination for visitors
in the late nineteen century. Miners, loggers, freight drivers, cattlemen and
sheepmen came through for provisions, mail, a hot meal, temporary lodging and
camaraderie. Recreational activities became a popular pastime as mining diminished,
and Columbine attracted fisherman, hunters, trappers and outdoor enthusiasts. The
population reached a peak of 68 in 1900 and rose again to 59 in 1930. At its height
the town consisted of a general store and post office, saloon, several hotels and
boarding houses, a blacksmith shop, assay office, mining company offices, a gas
station, restaurants, and cabins.
The district contains representative examples of Pioneer Log construction associated
with the isolated mining camps of the Colorado mountains from the early 1880s up
through the mid-twentieth century. Builders used locally available logs and stone
in the construction of the various buildings. The earliest were one-room peeled log
cabins with notched corners and front-gabled roofs set on simple stone foundations.
A later phase of building began with a change of ownership in 1936. This phase brought
Rustic style cabins blending well with the natural landscape. (Photograph 2005)
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Steamboat Laundry Building
127-131 Eleventh St., Steamboat Springs
The 1910-20 building was part of the early commercial development of
Steamboat Springs. The firm played an important role in fostering the town’s
development through service industries. The 1910 construction and circa 1920
expansion reflect Steamboat’s increasing and prospering population, as well
as the community’s economic success during the first two decades of the
twentieth century. The building is a good example of Twentieth-Century Commercial
style architecture as it appeared in northwest Colorado. (Photograph 2006)
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