Supporting History

Farms Cultivate Appreciation for the Past

Originally published in Colorado History NOW, November 2004

Falling leaves and cooler weather remind many of us that the holiday season is just around the corner.  While we gather with friends and family around the dinner table, it is appropriate to celebrate the farmers and ranchers who make our bountiful repasts possible.  At the same time, we should be aware that our shared connection to an agricultural way of life is diminished every time a residential or commercial development replaces a small family farm.  Recognizing the need to save this essential part of our heritage, the State Historical Fund has supported several projects that preserve farms as living history centers in order to grow our appreciation for the land and its many gifts.

The Boulder County Agricultural Heritage Site, which sits along Colorado 66 near Longmont, is one such place.  Through a SHF grant, the 1881 McIntosh barn is being restored and exhibits are being installed inside to tell the story of farming in the county.  An interpreted walking tour allows visitors to see a silo, granaries, and barns that would be humming with activity at harvest time.  Here workers transferred sugar beets to local canneries and sugar plants while feed crops were prepared for winter storage and consumption by the family’s dairy cows.

The Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site, owned by the city of Colorado Springs and located adjacent to the Garden of the Gods, is a 230-acre park that includes an American Indian camp, an 1860s cabin, the 1880 Chambers House, and the 1907 Orchard House. The State Historical Fund has funded restoration projects for both of the houses.  The Orchard House, built near the site’s orchards, dates from the days when town founder General Palmer included the farm in his estate.  Designed in 1907 by architect Thomas MacLaren, the house was something of a “country estate,” with modern urban conveniences such as water and electricity.  The house, which received a new roof, serves as the site’s interpretation center and offers programs such as the annual Fall Harvest Festival.

The Plumb Farm in Weld County offers another opportunity to understand our agricultural heritage.  As one of the original founders of the Union Colony, Charles White had already established himself in the community that would become Greeley when he received his Timber Culture Patent in 1892 for 160 acres west of Greeley.  Anticipating the future, his 1904 farmhouse was wired for electricity twenty years before that convenience was available in the area.  Charles Plumb purchased the property in 1922 after White died.

Plumb became well known for his efforts to improve farming practices and soil conservation.  He designed a unique cooling system for his potato cellar that used vents to bring outside air under and around the storage bins to prevent spoilage.  The SHF is helping the City of Greeley, who acquired the property in 1999, to rehabilitate the farmhouse as an agricultural interpretive center.

Besides providing financial assistance, the State Historical Fund has also partnered with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to celebrate the importance of our agricultural heritage.  Each year, the Centennial Farms program recognizes farms that have been owned by the same family for one hundred years or more.  The program was the first of its kind in the nation to give a Historic Structures Award, provided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to families who have successfully preserved historic buildings on their farms and ranches.  Though several former Centennial Farms have succumbed to development pressures that resulted in the unfortunate loss of land and buildings, most of the 300-plus farms that have received the prestigious designation remain active farms.

BY LYLE MILLER, SHF Technical Advisor

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