Administering the National Forests of Colorado: an Assessment of the Architectural and Cultural Significance of Historic Administrative Properties

Author(s): Ralph Hartley; James Schneck

Year: 1996

Summary

Colorado currently has eleven National Forests and two National Grasslands. A total of 128 sites were visited in these Forests and Grasslands during the summers of 1993 and 1994. Most of these buildings were constructed by personnel from or associated with the Forest Service. A few were acquired by the Service prior to 1950 for administrative use, and a few have no historical association with administrative activities in the Forests but are owned and maintained by the Service. This report summarizes the results of the building and site inventory undertaken by the National Park Service, and offers preliminary recommendations of eligibility within the context of the administration and architecture of the United States Forest Service.

This report is organized in such a way that it can be read as a complete document or used as a reference to obtain information about properties in a given Forest or at a specified site. The following section explains the procedures used to conduct the inventory and research and also makes explicit the methods used to establish recommendations regarding the architectural, cultural, and historical significance of these sites. An overview of the history of the Forest Service in Colorado is then provided to establish a context for the construction and activities that took place at these sites and to offer some quotable experiences of those who lived and worked at some of these sites. The third section of the report documents the history and development of the architecture of the Forest Service in Colorado. A discussion of the development of the function, style, and method of construction that defines these administrative sites and buildings is included. Lastly, a summarized catalogue of all evaluated sites is presented by Forest with emphasis on recommendations for eligibility status to the National Register of Historic Places. Detailed documentation of these sites and buildings with text specific to their history of construction can be found in the set of Colorado Cultural Resource Survey and Historic Building Inventory Record forms that accompany this report. Included in the tables in this section of the report are administrative sites previously determined eligible that were not visited as part of this project. These sites are included to make the document a more complete resource for facility and cultural resource managers.

Finally, three appendices provide detailed information not included in the body of the report. Appendix A outlines the chronological development of the current Forests in Colorado; Appendix B consists of an explanation of the attributes and variables by which each site was assessed; and Appendix C is a comprehensive list of historical building plans known to have been used in the Rocky Mountain Region of the Service. Many of these remain on file at the Rocky Mountain Regional office in Denver.

Since this report will be available to persons not familiar with Forest Service history and the Forests of Colorado, attempts have been made to explain the historical context in which these sites and buildings were evaluated while at the same time make it a report useful to a wide range of current and future managers.

Cite this Record

Administering the National Forests of Colorado: an Assessment of the Architectural and Cultural Significance of Historic Administrative Properties. Ralph Hartley, James Schneck. 1996 ( tDAR id: 42270) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8KS6TNX

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Shoshone

Site Name
5AA1755 • 5AA1756 • 5AA1855 • 5AA1856 • 5AA1857 • 5AA1858 • 5AA1859 • 5BA549 • 5CC653 • 5CC698 • 5CF170 • 5CF827 • 5CF828 • 5CF829 • 5CN794 • 5CN795 • 5CN796 • 5CR249 • 5DL1719 • 5DL1790 • 5DL1792 • 5DL1793 • 5DT99 • 5EA1092 • 5EA795 • 5EA889 • 5EA892 • 5EA902 • 5EA903 • 5EA905 • 5EA906 • 5EA915 • 5EP2214 • 5EP995 • 5GA1353 • 5GA1891 • 5GA1892 • 5GA1893 • 5GF1481 • 5GF1483 • 5GF1484 • 5GF1486 • 5GF2129 • 5GL696 • 5GN1314 • 5GN1735 • 5GN2098 • 5GN2129 • 5GN2551 • 5GN2552 • 5GN2553 • 5GN2554 • 5GN2555 • 5HF1175 • 5HF1176 • 5HN280 • 5HN506 • 5HN507 • 5HN508 • 5JA544 • 5JA561 • 5JA942 • 5JF1001 • 5LK861 • 5LP3867 • 5LP3868 • 5LP3869 • 5LP3870 • 5LP3871 • 5LP3872 • 5LR1862 • 5LR1863 • 5LR1864 • 5LR1865 • 5ME4936 • 5ME5002 • 5ME6161 • 5ME6254 • 5ME6477 • 5ME7369 • 5ME864 • 5ML284 • 5ML285 • 5ML286 • 5ML287 • 5MT12041 • 5MT12552 • 5MT12553 • 5MT12554 • 5MT12555 • 5PA70 • 5PA755 • 5PA756 • 5PA757 • 5PE1754 • 5PE2126 • 5PT2 • 5PT547 • 5PT554 • 5PT601 • 5RB2882 • 5RB2883 • 5RB2884 • 5RB3723 • 5RB987 • 5RN314 • 5RN315 • 5RN472 • 5RN516 • 5RN517 • 5RN518 • 5RT1177 • 5RT1178 • 5RT1179 • 5RT1180 • 5RT431 • 5RT462 • 5RT668 • 5SH1468 • 5SH1469 • 5SH1470 • 5SH1471 • 5SM1299 • 5SM2748 • 5ST366 • 5ST621 • 5ST622 • 5WL2225 • AG Ranch • Alpine Guard Station • Alvarado Ranger Station • Animas Supervisor's Warehouse • Aspen Ranger Station • Bailey Work Center • Bar HL Ranger Station • Basalt Ranger Station • Bassam Guard Station • Bayfield Ranger Station • Beaver Creek Campground Toilet • Benchmark Fire Lookout • Brewery Creek Guard Station • Briggsdale Work Center • Bristol View Work Center • Buckhorn Work Center • Buena Vista • Buena Vista Office • Buffalo Creek Work Center • Buford Guard Station • California Park Guard Station • Carbondale Ranger Station • Carrizo Work Center • Cataract Lake Cabins • Cayton Guard Station • Cement Creek Guard Station • Cold Springs Work Center • Collbran District Office • Creede Ranger Station • Crested Butte Ranger Station • Crystal Lakes Work Center • Del Norte District Office • Derby Ranger Station • Devil Mountain Fire Lookout • Dolores District Office • Dorchester Guard Station • Dunton Guard Station • Durango Ranger's Residence • Durango Supervisor's Residence • Eagle Ranger Station • East Bench Administrative Site • Eight Mile Fire Lookout • Estes Park Ranger Station • Fairplay Work Center • Fairview Peak Lookout • Fitton Guard Station • Glade Guard Station • Granite Peak Guard Station • Grizzley Creek Guard Station • Gunnison Supervisor's Warehouse • Hahn's Peak Fire Lookout • Hightower Ranger Station • Hog Park Guard Station • Idaho Springs Supervisor's Residence and Forest Warehouse • Idaho Springs Work Center • Iron City Cabin • Jersey Jim Fire Lookout • Lake Isabel Work Center • Land's End Observatory • Leon Peak Lookout • Lily Lake Guard Station • Lone Cone Guard Station • Long Branch Ranger Station • Lost Creek Guard Station • Lost Man Guard Station • Lower Mancos Warehouse • Mad Creek Guard Station • Mancos Ranger's Residence • McCormick Cabin • Meadow Mountain Line Cabin • Meadow Mountain Line Shack • Meeker Ranger's Residence • Mesa Lakes Ranger Station • Michigan River Guard Station • Middle Park Ranger Station • Miller Creek Cow Camp • Minturn Ranger Station • Monte Vista Supervisor's Residence • Monument Work Center • Norrie Guard Station • Norwood Ranger Station • Off Cow Camp • Pagosa Ranger's Residence No.1 • Pagosa Ranger's Residence No.2 • Parkview Fire Lookout • Piedra Guard Station • Piney Guard Station • Platoro Work Center • Ptarmigan Ranch • Pueblo Supervisor's Warehouse • Pyramid Guard Station • Redfeather Ranger Station • Rico Guard Station • River Springs Work Center • Rollinsville Work Center • Saguache Ranger Station • Salida Work Center • San Carlos District Office • Sapinero Ranger Station • Seedhouse Campground Toilet • Seedhouse Guard Station • Seepage Creek Barn Site • Shadow Mountain Village • Silver Falls Guard Station • Slate Creek Ranger Station • Soda Creek Homestead • South Fork Guard Station • Spanish Peaks Work Center • Square Top Guard Station • Steamboat Springs II • Stub Creek Ranger Station • Stunner Line Cabin • Summit Creek Guard Station • Supervisor's Warehouse, Colorado Springs • Sweetwater Guard Station • Taylor District Office • Thompson Creek Ranger Station • Tigiwon Community Building • Treasure Guard Station • Trimble Work Center • Turkey Springs Guard Station • Upper Saguache Guard Sation • Vallecito Guard Station • Ward Lake Ranger Station • West Elk Creek Barn • White River Supervisor's Warehouse Show More

Site Type
Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Governmental Structure • Guard Station • Historic Governmental Structure • Historic Structure • Lookout Tower • Military Structure • Non-Domestic Structures • Structure

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview • Architectural Documentation • Architectural Survey • Heritage Management • Historic Background Research • Site Evaluation / Testing

Geographic Keywords
08998 (Fips Code) • Arapaho National Forest • Battlement Mesa • Cimarron National Grasslands • Colorado (State / Territory) • Comanche National Grasslands • Grand Mesa National Forest • Medicine Bow National Forest • Montezuma National Forest • North America (Continent) • Pawnee National Grasslands • Pike National Forest • Pikes Peak • Rio Grande National Forest • Roosevelt National Forest • Routt National Forest • San Isabel National Forest • San Juan National Forest • San Louis Valley • South Park • South Platte • Uncompahgre National Forest • United States of America (Country) • White River National Forest

Temporal Keywords
Historic

Spatial Coverage

min long: -109.067; min lat: 36.992 ; max long: -102.041; max lat: 41.003 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Anne Vawser

Contributor(s): Colorado State Historical Society; Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region; Terri Liestman; Dave Faulk; Dave Gillio; Kent Schneider; Ken Duce; Dr. M. Chester Nolte; Harry Dallas; Don Simonton; Ralph Hartley; James Schneck

Prepared By(s): Midwest Archeological Center, National Park Service, Lincoln

Submitted To(s): U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region

Record Identifiers

Interagency Agreement No. (s): 1102-0002-93-023

NADB document id number(s): 5308108

NADB citation id number(s): 000000176128

Notes

General Note: This resource originated from a citation record migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R). NADB identification numbers are included in the Document Identifiers section of this resource.

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
MWAC-Report_Hartley-Schneck_National-Forests-of-Colorado_1996-... 28.23mb Jun 7, 2015 12:04:12 PM Public