Supporting History

Preservation in the Parks

December, 2001

Though Colorado's national parks receive more than their share of attention from visitors, savvy travelers know that many of the region's finest scenic and natural areas fall under the stewardship of the state parks system.  The Colorado state parks system consists of forty parks encompassing 215,000 acres of land and water where the landscapes vary as much as the state's famed elevation.  In addition to their unsurpassed aesthetic qualities and recreational opportunities, many of the parks offer a glimpse into the past.  By supporting preservation projects within the parks, the State Historical Fund is helping to promote the idea that historic sites enhance visitors' appreciation for Colorado's natural areas.

In 1873 surveyor Ferdinand Hayden declared that the landscape now encompassed by Roxborough State Park contains more picturesque sandstone than any other Front Range area.  This fact was probably not lost on pre-historic peoples who inhabited the area thousands of years ago; Roxborough contains many sites relating to early human activity.  A 1998 Fund project is producing a cultural resources survey of over 1,900 acres that will not only document pre-historic sites but historic sites as well.

At the turn of the twentieth century, Roxborough was becoming a small resort where Denverites could come and soak in the beauty.  By 1907 Henry Persse had acquired much of the land and had developed a ranch and resort that included a comfortable stone house as his dwelling.  The state later acquired the property and by 1975 opened the first segment of Roxborough State Park to the public.  By 1987 the stone house had fallen into disrepair.  The Fund provided $49,900 towards the stabilization and repair of the exterior including doors, windows, and roof, while a subsequent grant funded interior restoration.  The project received a Stephen Hart Award in 1988 due to the high-quality work completed under manager Susie Trumble.  The most recent grant will help pay for an interpretation training program and maintenance plan for the structure.

Another popular destination for Denverites and Front Range denizens was Eldorado Canyon.  Located southwest of Boulder, the site features red sandstone cliffs that tower 800 feet above South Boulder Creek.  In 1905 the Moffat Lakes Resort Company turned a small spiritualist camp at the mouth of the canyon into a resort with a pool, stables, picnic pavilions, and summer tent cottages.  A set of "crazy stairs" that zigzagged up the cliff face were built in 1908 at the same time as a hotel.  Over the years, ownership changes, a series of fires, and floods changed the complexion of the area.  The Fund helped develop a small exhibit and a book called A Glimpse at Eldorado's Colorful Past.

In another canyon water and floods left a legacy of rubble worth remembering and preserving.  In 1890 engineers built a 600-foot-long, 70-foot-high dam in Castlewood Canyon, located near Franktown, to provide irrigation water to the dry surrounding prairies.  Faced with quarried stone set in cement, this rubble-filled structure was submerged in controversy from the beginning.  Six months after its completion, a small crack developed, but inspectors deemed the structure safe.  On August 3, 1933, after several days of heavy rains further up the canyon, the dam burst.  An estimated one billion gallons of water spilled down Cherry Creek towards Denver in what would become one of the worst floods in the city's history.  Large boulders strewn along the creek bed near the dam ruins can still be seen today.  A 1997 State Historical Fund grant helped create an informative book called The Night the Dam Gave Away that documents the event through personal accounts.  Another grant contributed $15,000 to a cultural resources survey of the East Canyon within the park to investigate various historic sites.

West of Castlewood in the foothills above Denver, Golden Gate Canyon State Park offers wilderness-starved visitors a menu of dense forests, rocky peaks, and aspen-filled meadows.  Over a hundred miles of the Continental Divide can be seen from Panorama Point.  The park's Tallman Ranch, dating from the 1880s, was listed in the State Register of Historic Properties in 1995 after Senior Park Ranger Christopher Childs and a group of volunteers spent several months researching and documenting the complex.  The listing opened the door to grants from the State Historical Fund.  A 1996 grant funded an architectural assessment and preservation plan to produce detailed specifications for arresting the decay of the buildings and protecting them from harsh weather and vandalism.  A more recent grant, with matching funds from the Friends of Golden Gate Canyon State Park, will provide roof and structural repairs on the ranch house and workshop, preventing future damage.

Colorado's state park system offers visitors unlimited scenic, recreational, and educational opportunities.  Their stewards understand that preserving historic structures, buildings, and sites will increase our enjoyment of each park's unique natural environment.  The State Historical Fund commends their efforts and looks forward to future partnerships in park preservation.

BY LYLE MILLER, Technical Advisor, State Historical Fund