Supporting History

Preserving Transportation Resources

February, 2002

Washington never slept there, but Mark Twain did. Emigrants on the Overland Trail encamped by the score in front of its doors. William Henry Jackson photographed it and even made it a subject of one of his rare paintings. An outstanding example of piece-sur-piece construction, the Virginia Dale Overland Trail Stage Station, located four miles south of the Wyoming border in Larimer County, was built in 1862 as a stagecoach stop. Though serving that purpose for only a few years, it is the only such structure along the Overland Trail surviving on its original site.

The years have seen the use of the building change from stage stop to post office (1874) to general store (1919) to a community center (1935). It was deeded to the Virginia Dale Community Club in 1964. Those years, though, provided a lot of snow, rain, wind, and summer heat that contributed to the wear of significant structural members. The hand-hewn sill logs had begun to rot away from the stone foundation and were lying directly on the ground in some locations. In 1996 the Virginia Dale Community Club came to the State Historical Fund for assistance. They received a $30,000 grant towards the preservation of their National Register building. The structure was shored up while sill logs and parts of the foundation were repaired and replaced, replicating original materials and techniques as closely as possible.

Two hundred and fifty miles southeast of Virginia Dale in a shallow draw surrounded by sandstone outcrops, prairie grass, and yucca, is the Petticrew Ranch. Set into a hillside between Lamar and Springfield rests a unique "I" plan sandstone ranch house that served as the Petticrew Stage Stop. With dry-laid walls and a slightly curved dirt-covered roof, the building still appears much like it did in the late 1890s. The barn is a rare example of stone bank barn design and was designed specifically to accommodate the feeding of horses for stagecoach and freight wagon use.

Reportedly, the Petticrews operated their ranch as a stage stop for the W.H. Harris Stage Line during the 1890s. They served lunch for passengers at the ranch house/stage stop while spent horses were exchanged at the barn for fresh ones ready to finish the journey. In 1929 the complex became the property of the Fowler family and has remained in their care to the present. Recently, Prowers County sponsored a SHF Historic Structure Assessment Grant to study the condition of the buildings. This will provide a useful document in determining future plans for this historic National Register property.

In the late 1870s mail destined for the Yampa Valley was conveyed via the Wells Fargo mail route from Georgetown. After crossing Gore Pass, passengers and horses alike were ready for a rest at the Rock Creek Stage Stop. Serving as an overnight stop and a mail drop, the Rock Creek Stage Stop was a one-day trip from Steamboat Springs through Toponas and Oak Creek. The trail also split from this point and ventured south to what is now State Bridge. Near the stop were pastures and corrals where tired horses could spend a few days munching on mountain hay and meadow grass.

The Rock Creek Stage Stop is a unique two-story log structure. The stage station itself might have been built in stages, as the first floor logs are joined at the corners by an inverted "v" or "house" notch while the second floor corners and intersections are all square notched. Though it served as a service center for settlers and as a shelter for travelers into the 1930s, it had become so deteriorated in recent years that it was named to Colorado Preservation Inc.'s Most Endangered Places list in 2000.

Through the efforts of Steamboat Springs's Tread of Pioneers Museum, Historic Routt County, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, two SHF grants have been awarded toward the stabilization of this historic structure. An initial structural assessment documented its condition while a subsequent project provided much-needed stabilization. Future plans are yet undecided, though three options have been investigated: stabilize the structure as a ruin, make it weather tight for use as an overnight recreational shelter, or completely restore into a museum facility. Regardless of the final outcome, thanks to the dedication of concerned groups, the structure has been saved from collapse.

Before Interstate highways and Frequent Flyer airline miles, the stagecoach provided one transportation choice for negotiating the dusty prairie or steep mountain terrain. Stage stations provided a welcome haven for weary travelers in the same way that motels on Interstate exits do for modern travelers today. In addition to the Virginia Dale, Petticrew Ranch, and Rock Creek stage station projects, the State Historical Fund has participated in a planning grant for the Four-mile House in Denver and in acquisition of the Seventeen-mile House near Parker. The care extended to these historic resources will provide welcome stops on the road to preservation for years to come.