HomeMy WebLinkAbout5A - Update Memo
• January 7"', 2009
TO: Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board
FR01~1: James Hewat, Chris Meschuk
SUBJECT: Update Memo
Revisions to Enforcement Provisions in Historic Preservation Ordinance
The City Attorney's Office has drafted revisions (Attachment A) to the ordinance providing for
changes to the criminal penalties that allow for the ability to impose up to the maximum penalty for
each day out-of-compliance. Please review the revised ordinance (new language underscored) anal be
prepared to comment.
The second potential change to the ordinance would provide for an administrative remedy (ies) for
violations which may include the judge as a hearing officer given the ability to impose restrictions on
future development on a property where a violation has occurred. The City Attorney's Office is
currently at work on proposed administrative remedies and draft language will be brought to the
Board separately.
Once the criminal and administrative penalties have been preliminarily reviewed and comment on by
the Board, they will be brought to the Landmarks Board for formal review and recommendation and
subsequently to the City Counci] for adoption, if appropriate.
Post WW-II Residential Subdivision Survey and Context
`l'l~e fieldwork for the reconnaissance survey has been completed with 4245 houses being recorded.
Data entry of the information is currently and will be completed by the end of December. The
reconnaissance survey information will be used to select the 110 examples that will be intensively
surveyed.
Mapleton School
Staff has been attending meetings for the Early Childhood Education center proposed for the school.
Proposed changes include construction of an elevatorlstair tower on the south elevation and the
addition of approximately 40 parking spaces. City Council has dedicated $54,000 to the project from
the Educational Excise Tax if the project moves forward. The Mapleton Coalition will present a
concept plan to the Landmarks design review committee early in the new-year. In April 2008, the
coalition will present to the Boulder Valley School Board, with view to securing a long tezm lease on
the building.
Valmont Mill
Staff is working on a Colorado Historical Society condition assessment grant application.
2009 CLG Grant Application
Update at meeting.
New and Pending Land Use Review Applications
St. Gertrude's Academy addition
1535 Spruce Street (new &Town venue)
Planning Board Calendar
See attached.
I
Stay-of-Demolition Status Summary, January 7"', 2009
Date of Date Stay Date of
Address Construction Int osed E iration Current Status
l-lave met with applicant to
discuss alternatives.
607 forest c.1937 12/3/2008 04/06/2009 Applicant considers
Avenue demolition only reasonable
alternative to redeveloping
ro ert .
Landmark Applications Update:
• 301 S Kalmia Avenue, landmark designation application submitted 9/ 4 /08 as a condition of
Annexation & Site Review approval.
• 800 Arapahoe Avenue: Awaiting City Council review pending a subdivision application. Grant
contract executed. Continuance by board expires 04/30/09
• 1215 Cedar Street -Washington School: Postponed pending resolution of site planning issues.
• Willard House, 125 Bellevue Drive, postponed until legal issues resolved
• 2303 Mapleton/2316 23rd St designated as individual landmarks December 16d', 2008
Attachments:
A. Draft Ordinance Amending Section 9-11-12, B.R.C. Regarding Enforcement and Penalties,
and Setting Forth Related Details.
B. Planning Board Calendar
C. Cultural Resources of Valmont Park, Boulder County Colorado. Prepared by Peter J.
Gleichman, 1997
v2
Attachment A
ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 9-11-12, B.R.C. 1981,
REGARDING ENFORCEMENT AND I'ENAI,TIES, AND
SETTING FORTH RELATED DETAILS.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL Or TI-IE CITY OF BOULDER,
COLORADO:
Section 1. Section 9-11-12, B.R.C. 1981, is amended to add a new subsection (e) as
follows:
St-11-12 Landmark Alteration Certificate Required.
(a} No person shall carry out or permit to be carried out on a designated landmark site, on a
designated feature, or in a designated historic district any of the following without first obtaining
a landmark alteration certificate:
(1) New construction, alteration, relocation, or demolition of any building;
(2) New construction, alteration, zelocation, or demolition of any designated feature;
(3} New construction, alteration, relocation or demolition of any fence or other landscape
features, including, without limitation, any deck, patio, wall, beam, garden structure, water
feature, exterior lighting, curb cut, driveway, replacement of sod with a hard surface, or any
landscaping that has the potential for damaging buildings or designated features; and
Any activity requiring a building perrr?it pursuant to this code, except for buildin.~; permits
required for interior work on a building.
(b) In addition to the requireanents set forth in subsection (a) of this section, applicants must also
obtain all necessary permits for the proposed work under this chapter as well as any other
permits required by this code or other ordinance of the city.
(c) The planning department shall maintain a current record of all designated landmark sites and
historic districts and pending designations. If the building division receives an application for a
permit to carry out any new construction, alteration, relocation, or demolition of a building or
other designated feature on a landmark site or in a historic district or in an area for which
designation proceedings are pending, the building division shall promptly forward such permit
application to the planning department.
(d) The city manager shall review any permit application the manager receives to determine
whether a~landmark alteration certificate for the work proposed in the permit application has
K:\plhd\ord to add each 24 hrs scp violation to code-488.doc
been issued and whether the permit application conforms to the certificate. If a certificate has
been issued on the permit application and the proposed work conforms thereto, the manager shall
refer the permit application to the building division, which shall process it without further
reference to this chapter. If no certificate has been issued, or if in the sole judgment of the
manager the permit application does not conform to the certificate, the manager shall disapprove
the permit application and shall not issue it until a certificate has been issued and the permit
application conforms thereto.
(el It shall be a separate violation of subsections al or ( for each 24~iir~eiod dtuin~ wl~tel~
t condition created in violation of this section ex is until
X11 a landmark alteration certificate is obtaii l #~2' the c2nstruction, alteration, relocation or
demolition performed: or
(21 the work nerfQnned in violati o this section i`s restored tQth_e condition fliat existed
prior to the violation and in accordance with all applicable provisions of this code.
Section 2. This ordinance is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of
the residents of the city, and covers matters of local concern.
Section 3. The city council deems it appropriate that this ordinance be published by title
only and orders that copies of this ordinance be made available in the office of the city cl.ezk for
public inspection and acquisition.
1NTR.ODi~CED, READ ON FIRST READING, AND ORDERED PUBLISHED BY
TITLE ONLY this day of , 20~.
Mayor
Attest:
City Clerk on behalf of the
Director of Finance and Record
K:\plhd\ord to add each 24 hrs sep violation to code-488.doc ~ _
READ ON SECOND READING, PASSED, ADOPTED, AND ORDERED
PUBLISHED BY TITLE ONLY this day of , 20_.
Mayor
Attest:
City Clerk on behalf of the
Director of Finance and Record
K:\plhd\ord to add each 24 hrs sep violation to code-488.doc
Attachment I3
December 2 0 0 8 Amended Qecember 19, 2008
Last Planning Board mee0ng December 18, 2008
1 2 3 4 S 6
CC M°eanq, fi pm cr. LB, 6 p.m. In CC PB Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC
„°"w, T:~ r.°" r<,...~ ",.`~',`~'`rm M) PB Agenda Meeting, 4 p.m. In 'TMP update (Chris MJ
roT rni [h,,;,s NUr~ (c;wc, Z) Olmsted
'Boulder Mobile Manor (Kad
~T~iCw G4W r°t iw TwFi,.p Gnlw (E:nin M) )
^om:r.> cay.y:waq,°w.s(Else,°M 1
Andrew Request for Leave -
~er
:h~,-...drn°r.mra„iowruc,(M.,~.~w~a; Matters
'1Y'elbrl D=~u~via)' ~'w~~w T,..+-lAa ,:rc,< l:~lio ( )
A Sophr;r to Chair
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
CC SS, 6 p.m. in CC BOZA, 5 p.m- in CC
CANCELLED
1 IS 16 17 IS 19 20
CC Meeting, 6 p.m. In CC PB Agenda Meeting, 4 p.m. in PB Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC
'29th Streot Residential Sate
'2nd Reading 2376 23rd Street and 2303 Olmsted
h4apteton Ave. Landmark (James H.) RH 2 Zone Public Meeting, West Sr. Review (Kad G.}
'2nd Reading Amendment to Title 10 far Ctr., Creekside Room, 6-8 p.m. Recommendation on potential
LLC's next steps in the analysis of
potentat future development for
'2020 Upland Annexaticns (Charles F.) University Hill (Chadic Z.)
'Cor•~patibte Development
Update (Julie J J - MaL'ers
K Becker absent
2 22 23 24 25 26 27
CHRISTMAS EVE HOLIDAY (1I2 DAY) CHRISTMAS DAY HOLIDAY
2 29 30 31
Nov 2008 Tan 2009
LB Meeting, 1:30-3:30 p.m., In CC NEW YEARS EVE HOLIDAY (1(2 DAY)
s:~t~rwTr•s sM'rwTrs
1 1 ? 3
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 4 5 6 7 8 9 IU
9 10 I1 12 13 14 15 11 12 13 14 [5 16 17
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 18 19 20 2l 22 23 24
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
• 30
January 2 0 09 Amended December 19, 2008
Last Planning Board meeting December 18, 2008
D~e 2008 F~b 2tltlr~ 1 2 3
S M W T P S S M 'f t6' T r 5 New Years Day!!!
1 2 3 4 5 G 1 2 3 4 5 G 7
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 8 9 10 ]1 t2 13 t4
l4 15 l6 17 18 19 20 IS 1G 17 18 19 20 21
21 22 23 24 25 2G 27 22 23 24 25 2G 27 28
28 29 30 31.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LB, 6 p.m. in CC PB Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC
PB Agenda Meeting, 4 p.m. in 'Western Disposal/Brickyard
Olmsted Annexation Concept Plan
(Charles F.)
Wetlands Public Meettng, 5.7 p.m, in
Muni Lobby 'Washington Village 2 Site
Review (Karl G.)
1 12 13 14 IS 16 17
Compatible CC Special Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC DDAB, 4 p.m. in Muni Lobby Compatible Development
Developme Workshop West Senior
5.6 p. m. `~r Academy Process (Susan R.) Compatible Development Workshop Center 5:30-6 p.m. Open
Open Boulder Hlgh School 5:30.6 p.m. House/ 6-8 p.m. Workshop
House 'Call-up of 1580 Canyon Sile Reivew (Kad Open Housel 6-8 p.m. Workshop
Muni C'')
Lobby/ 6.8 'Call-up of Walgreens (Elaine M.)
p.m.
Presentatlc
Council
1 19 20 21 22 23 24
Martin CC Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC Compatible Developmont Workshop PB MeeUng, 5 p.m. In CC
LLther West Senior Center 5:30-6 p.m. Open
'1st reading 1777 Broadway, Muni. Bldg. House! 6-8 p.m, Workshop (if needed) 'Orchard Grove 5 acre options
King Jr. Landmark (Chris M.) (Elaine M.)
Holiday •Rrcommendation on potential next steps in 'Recornmondalion on
the analysis of potental future development PB Agenda Meeting, 4 p.m. in wetlands mitigation policy and
for University Hill (Charlie Z.) Olmsted use chart (Bev J.)
'NAP Zone District Ordinance
(Louise G.)
2 26 27 28 29 30 31
CC SS, 6 p.m, in CC `CommerciaUResidential Green Building
Code Updatu Public meeting (tire and
fnc;alion TBD)
February 2009 emended December 19, 2008
Last PLrnniny Board rneeGrg December 18, 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
CC Meeting, 6 p.m. In CC LB, 6 p.m. in CC PB Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC
'1st Reading Boulder Mobile Maror Spec. PB Agenda Meeting, 4 p.m. in '800 Arapahoe Special Ord.
Ordinance (Karl G.) Olmsted (Elaine M.)
`1st Reading 896 171h Street (Chris M.) 'Call-up 1235 Mariposa (Katie
'tst Reading Weslem Disposal Annexation K.)
(Charles F.)
'2nd reading 1777 Broadway, Muni. Bldg.
Landmark (Chris M.)
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
CC SS, 6 p.m. In CC 'CommerciaVResidenGal Green Building
'Joint Plannin Board/ Ci Council scud Code Update Public meeting (time and
9 4' Y location TBD)
session on the Boulder Transit Vllege (BN)
siie concepts? DDAB, 4 p.m. in Muni Lobby
Sesquicentennial celebration 5:30-9 p.m
1 16 17 18 19 20 21
Presidents CC Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC PB Agenda Meeting, 4 p.m. in PB Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC
Holida `1st reading 1918 1/2 Pearl Landmark Olmsted 'Fire Master Pian (Chris M.)
Y (Chris M.)
'Prepare for Joint Study
'1st reading of 800 Arapahoe Landmark & Session (Susan R.)
Special Ord. (Chris M. and Elaine M.)
'1st reading NAP (Louise G.)
'Direction on Wetlands Ordimance changes
(Bev J.)
'Orchard Grove 5 aae options (Elains M.)
'2nd Reading 896 17th Slroet (Chris M.)
2 23 24 25 26 27 28
CC SS, 6 p.m. in CC PB Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC
'Joint PB/CC Study Session CompaG6lo 'Recommendation on
Development (joint?) (Julie J.) Compatible Dev. (Julie J.)
Ian 2009 Mar 2009
S M 7' W '1' F S S M 'C W "C 1' S
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4 5 G 7 S 9 10 8 9 10 1! 12 13 14
I1 ]2 13 14 IS 16 17 IS 1G 17 18 19 20 21
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 22 23 24 25 7.G 27 28
25 2G 27 28 29 30 3l 29 30 31
March 2009 Arrendcd December 19, 2008
I-ast F'1~3nmag I3o,ud rneeling Drcernbor'9, 200f3
1 2 3 4 S 6 7
CC Meeting, 6 p.m. In CC LB, 8 p.m. in CC PB Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC
'2nd reading 1918 1/2 Pearl Landmark PB Agenda Meeting, 4 p.m. in 'Chango to Height Mod. Slds.
(Chris M.) Olmsted (Brian H.)
'2nd Reading Boulder MotNle Manor Spacial
Ord.(Kad G.)
`Direction on Compatible Dev. (Julie JJ
`2r.d Reading Western Disposal Annexation
(Charles f
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
CCSS,6p.m.inCC
'Join) Planning Board! City Council study
session on the Boulder Transit Village (BN)
site concepts?
1 16 17 18 19 20 21
CC MaeUng, 6 p.m. in CC DDAB, 4 p.m. in Munl Lobby PB Meeting, 6 p.m. in CC
'2nd reading of 800 Arapahoe Landmark & PB Agenda Meeting, 4 p.m. In
Spacial Ord. (Chris M. and Elaine M.) Olmsted
'2nd roading NAP (Louise G.)
'Change to Height Mod. Stds. (Brian li.)
'2nd Reading Wostem Disposal Annexation
(Charles F.)
2 23 24 25 26 27 28
CC SS, 8 p.m. in CC
2 30 31
Feb 2009 Apr 2009
CC SS, 6 p.m. In CC
S M T W T F S S M T 1V 1' F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 5 G 7 8 9 10 II
IS lG 17 I8 14 20 21 12 13 l4 l5 16 17 IS
22 23 24 25 2G 27 23 l9 20 21 22 23 2.4 25
2G 27 28 29 30
1
Attachment C
NATIVE C UL fiURAL SERVICES
CULTURAL RESOURCES
OF
vALMONT PARK -
BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO
by
. Peter J. Gleichman~
Prepared For: • . -
I ;E%
j ~ ~ `
Shapins .Associates, Inc.
1245 Pearl St., Suite 201 ( ~
Boulder, Colorado 80302
ir• / ~ ,
Prepared By:
Native Cultural Services
' 4484 Hamilton Court
Boulder, Colorado 80303
May 7, 1997
INTRODUCTION
This report documents the results of a cultural resource
investigation conducted by Native Cultural Services of the proposed
Valmont Park. The study was conducted at the request of Shapins
Associates, Inc., on behalf of the City of Boulder Department of
Parks and Recreation, to assist in planning for the proposed park.
The intent of the cultural resource study was to locate and
document cultural properties within the proposed park, and assess
their significance, so that appropriate management decisions may be
made regarding their protection and interpretation.
The study area includes approximately 128 acres, including 28 acres
of the existing City Yards. It includes the SW; of the SE 4, and
the W Z of the SE a of the SE a of Section 21; and the NE a of the NW 47
the NW a of the NE 4 / and portions of the SW~, of the NE ; of Section
28, in Township iN, Range 71W, of the 6th PM. The project area is
located on the USGS Boulder 7.5' topographic quadrangle map,
photorevised in 1979 (Figure 1).
The field investigations were performed by Peter Gleichman, Phil
Rice, and Hilary Reynolds-Burton. Peter Gleichman served as
Principle Investigator. Phil Rice documented the architecture and
construction of standing buildings. Ted Gleichman assisted with
archival research and compiling historic data. Field notes are on
file at the offices of Native Cultural Services. No artifacts were
collected during this study.
our thanks to Mr. Fettig, Mr. Helgoth, Dick Lyman, Mr. Neugebauer,
KC Schneider, Dock Teegarden, Bruce and Mildred Vaughn, and Everett
Wiehe for sharing their knowledge of the history of the area. Our
thanks to Jody Corruccini, Wendy Hall, and Mary Jo Reitsema of the
Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, for their assistance
with archival research.
EXISTING DATA AND LITERA.TiTRE REVIEW
The known culture history of the general area is summarized in the
overviews produced by the Colorado Historical Society for the
eastern plains by Eighmy (1984) and Mehls (1984). The history of
the Boulder area is presented by Fetter (1983), Schooland (1980),
Smith (1981), and Dyni (1989). A file search conducted at the
Colorado Historical Society's Office of Archaeology and Historic
Preservation indicated that no previous surveys had been conducted
within the study area. Two sites have been previously recorded in
the area: The Union Pacific Railroad (5BL469), and a farm house at
5098 Valmont Road (5BL5548). Neither is eligible to the National
Register of Historic Places.
...r-.
.',n i
I ~J ~ 5195
. t •1 • JAY.. ~ ~ ROAD
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• I SNO 517 ~ \ 52 i'i
~ .a l' Nl7ER0~~'" v,. p • 5250
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~ 119 ~ ke.,, ~ i ~ ~.~1d°'!~^'y., ~`SS _
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i - _ _ _ ~ e% STUDY AREA IL ~ '.C ~t:~~~
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ET I ; . V 11 : Boulder
~ /Junction
I Syr ,id I\j~~ ~ I
_ FIGURE 1 - Valmont Park Cultural Resources Study Area. USGS 7.5'
Niwot Quad, 1967/pr1979. Sections 21 & 28, T1N, R70W,
6thPM.
r •
OBJECTIVES AND METHODS
The primary objectives of the study were to provide Shapins
Associates and the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department
with an inventory of cultural properties, to assess the
significance of any sites located, and to produce recommendations
on how to avoid adverse impacts to significant cultural resources
from development of the park. Another objective was to assess the
ability of the cultural landscape as a whole, or of individual
cultural properties, to convey their historic association and their
potential for interpretation through signs or brochures.
In order to meet these objectives, cultural resources were defined
and documented in the field. It was known that the proposed
Valmont Park area contained several historic farm buildings, as
well as recent or modern buildings. Two historic irrigation
ditches traverse the area, as did the Union Pacific Railroad.
Substantial portions of the study area's surface are covered by
recent materials, such as junked cars at the Valmont Auto Parts
parcel and modern buildings on the Boulder Valley Poultry Farm and
at the City Yards. Other parcels have been recently cleaned up,
with buildings and debris removed. Some of the land is in pasture.
The long term historic agricultural and industrial use of the land
results in the study area having a very low potential for
containing aboriginal cultural resources. The extensive presence
of recent materials coupled with the intentional cleanup of debris
indicate that an intensive pedestrian survey of the area would be
futile. Accordingly, a reconnaissance level survey was completed,
to insure that all historic buildings and structures were located
and documented.
Historic buildings and structures are defined as those over 50
years old. These cultural properties were recorded using State of
Colorado Cultural Resource Survey forms supplied by the Office of
Archaeology and Historic Preservation of the Colorado Historical
Society (OAHP). A Management Data Form was completed for each
historic property, and Historic Architecture Building/Structure
Forms were filled out for standing buildings. A sketch map was
completed for each site, and black and white photographs were taken
of each building. Each cultural property was given a Smithsonian
number (SBL...), assigned by OAHP.
Historic research was conducted regarding the sites, involving
interviews with persons knowledgeable about the history of the area
and the sites, and archival research at the Boulder County
Courthouse and the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History. The
research was to ascertain details about dates of construction,
persons associated with each cultural property, and the historical
associations of each property.
i3
RESULTS
The study area contains five historic farm habitations, and
segments of two historic irrigation ditches. The Union Pacific
Railroad (formerly the Boulder Valley RR) used to cross the study
area. The Inland Oil Company refinery also used to be in the study
area, but no trace of it is extant. This study does not include a
complete chain of ownership for the farm sites. Our research does
indicate who was living at the farms at the time the extant
historic buildings were constructed, and the sites have been named
for those families.
The historic farm sites include the Harper Farm at 4948 Valmont
Road, currently owned and occupied by Mr. Helgoth of Valmont Auto
Parts; the Roney Farm with two dortticiles - 5098 Valmont Road and
5172 Valmont Road; the Platt Farm at 5227 Valmont Road; and the
Gilliam Farm at 5333 Valmont Road. One of the Roney houses, at
5098 Valmont Road, was previously recorded as site 5BL5548. While
the City of Boulder owns the land, this house is not owned by the
city, and is slated to be moved. It is thus not considered farther
in this study.
These cultural properties are discussed in an overview of their
historic context by relating them to specific historic themes
described below. Following that are site descriptions with a
description of the physical manifestations of each cultural
f property ,and detailed ,historic data regarding the property. The
historic data for each site is primarily from census records,
obituaries, newspaper articles, and oral histories. Additional
information is present on the Colorado Cultural Resource Survey
forms, a detached appendix to this report.
HISTORIC CONTEXT AND OVERVIEW
The Boulder Historic Context defines a series of historic themes
which provide a framework for studying and understanding the
history of the Boulder`Valley (Friedman 1989). The history of the
Valmont Park area relates to the themes of Agriculture; Mining,
Minerals & Extractive Industries; Water Resources; and
Transportation.
AGRICULTURE & WATER RESOURCES: -Patents to land in and around the
area were issued between 1864 and 1880. Pioneers like Thomas
Graham; James, Merritt and Frank Rhodes; and Thomas Jones came as
miners or the family of miners, but within a few years had
homesteaded farms or claimed land in this area of the Boulder
Valley. Like others attracted by the gold rush, some had prospered
at mining and retired to other interests, and some may have given
up mining in frustration and returned to farming. Thomas J.
(Tommy) Jones, for example, must not have attempted mining for very
1-t
long - he identifies himself as a miner living in Boulder in 1860,
but had claimed 150 acres of land along the south line of Section
22 (just east of the study area) in the fall of 1859 {McDowell and
Ostwald 1993), and was living near Valmont Butte by late 1860.
The pioneers in this area were part of the community of Valmont.
Indeed, Tommy Jones built the first building in Valmont in 1860, a
hotel and stage stop. The original structure was a one room log
cabin, but this was expanded into a large vertical plank balloon
frame building. Ernest Pease described it about 1870 as a "sort of .
public house or Inn, with large stables fvr transients." (Pease
1933:28). The stage stop served the Overland Stage system, and
according to Schooland, was on the "cut-off stage and wagon road
from Ft. St. Vrain, via Burlington, to Boulder, and the Gregory
Canyon road to Central" {1980:138). The original log Tommy_Jones
Stage Stop still exists, within the standing portion of the
vertical plank hotel, part of which is in ruins (Gleichman 1995,
Rice 1995}. They are located about z mile east of the study area.
Valmont was platted as a town in 1865. It was a farm community,
and for a few years its growth surpassed Boulder's and it was a
rival town. The Valmont Bulletin, 1866, was Boulder County's first
newspaper. Valmont didn't continue to grow much after 1870,
however (Dyni 1989:27,28).
Development of water resources in this area is directly associated
with agriculture. The construction of the North Boulder Farmers
Ditch by 1862 and the Boulder and Left Hand Ditch by 1873 would
allow irrigation, increasing the security of raising crops. The
availability of irrigation water was undoubtedly important to early
and continued farming in the area they traverse, north of Valmont
Road. The area south of Valmont Road reportedly has a high water
table, and some farms may have utilized runoff and well water in
addition to or rather than ditch water.
These homesteaders probably initially lived in log cabins, sod
houses, or combinations of log, stone and sod houses. Rough sawn
lumber would have been available by at least the early 1880s. No
traces of the first pioneer houses are currently .visible in the
Park area.
The first families owning or occupying the land did not stay long.
By the turn of the century and shortly thereafter new names take
possession of the land.
After working in the Niwot Mine in Ward, James Roney moved his
family to the Valmont Park area by 1900. Robert Emmett Rea, who
worked with James Roney at the Niwot Mine in 1890 also bought land
in the study area, but apparently did not build a house or live
there long. James Roney's sons, Robert and John, lived in separate
houses on the Roney land and farmed for more then 50 years. James
and Lucy Platt established a farm north of Valmont Road. Both were
from farm families. James' father and uncle had brought their
families from Iowa to the Valmont area to farm. By 1910-1913 the
Harpers were farming and living in the study area. Slightly later,
by 1921, Arthur Gilliam was farming and living in the area. The
farm houses associated with these people still exist in the study
area.
Agriculture continued in the study area in recent time with the
establishment of the Boulder Valley Poultry Farm in 1960`:' Mildred
and Bruce Vaughn bought land from Arthur Gilliam, and originally
tried to raise turkeys. They switched to raising chickens for
eggs, and sold eggs to Joyce's Supermarkets, Miller's Supermarkets,
and later King Soopers and Safeway. By the early 1980s they had
400,000 chickens at the first automated chicken ranch in the U.S.
The Vaughns milled their o~m feed, and had the first pneumatic
feeding system with underground piping from the mill to the chicken
houses.
MINING AND EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES: - While agriculture is the most
prevalent undertaking in the area, extractive industry did take
place here. Much of the North Boulder Valley is part of the
Boulder Oil Field, where an "oil boom" took place shortly after the
turn of the century. The Boulder Oil Field aka the Haystack Field
is about six by two miles, extending northeast along the present
Boulder-Longmont Diagonal. According to Smith (1981), the "Old
Whiterock" well was sunk at the top of Gunbarrel Hill in 1892.
Ferdinand V. Hayden, after surveying the area for the US Geological
Survey in 1901 referred to Boulder County as lying over "a
veritable sea of oil" (Smith 1981:139). Isaac Canfield hit oil in
an exploratory well in January, 1902, and by April of that same
year 117 oil companies were operating in the area of the Boulder-
Longmont Diagonal. In the peak year, 1909, over 85,000 barrels of
oil were produced. This boom was short-lived however, with
production falling to 7000 barrels in 1914, and by 1923 only 12
wells were operating in the county. Of the 183 wells that were
drilled during this period, 102 were dry, 76 produced oil, and 5
produced gas. By 1953 just 2500 barrels of oil were produced
(Jenson 1954).
It does not appear that much if any oil exploration or extraction
took place in the study area, however, the Inland Oil Company
constructed a refinery in the study area in 1907. The refinery was
about where the current City Parks Maintenance building is. The
refinery had two stills, each of 400 barrel daily capacity. Inland
oil hit a gusher with its 13th well, located south of Haystack
Mtn., drilled in December 1908. It had an initial production of
250 barrels/day, dropping to 160 barrels/day in January of 1909.
Of the other wells drilled, eight were producing from 5 to 170
barrels/day. The refinery distilled the oil into gas, kerosene,
gas oil, and wax oil (paraffin) (Washburn 1908). A water tank was
placed on the hill in the center north of Section 28 ("Hurricane
Hill" ) , with a pipeline for fire protection going to the refinery.
~ ~0
~ 1
The oil boom may have had another economic effect on inhabitants of
the area, that of providing employment. Perl Mosher, with his wife
Mary, was residing in the study area by 1910, next to the Harper
Farm, on the parcel currently owned by the Marcues. Two of his
brothers were working as pump men on oil wells in 1910, and other
people in the area may also have been employed by oil companies.
The area where the refinery was later became a City of Boulder
sewage treatment plant, and in 1987 the Parks Maintenance building
was constructed.
TRANSPORTATION: _ Valmont Road probably existed as a wagon road
from the early 1860s. It was also apparently used for a spur of
the Overland Stage Route. The presence of the road provided access
between Valmont and Boulder, and was undoubtedly important to the
general settlement of the Valmont area, and to the specific
placement of farmhouses in the Park area (i. e. , most were built
along the road). The Denver & Boulder Valley/Union Pacific RR
traversed the study area by 1873, and had a depot in Valmont. This
was undoubtedly important to local farmers for transporting farm
produce and connections to urban areas.
SITE DESCRIPTIONS
Site SBL469 is the IInion Pacific Railroad. This line was abandoned
in the 1970s, and the tracks in the study area were gone by the
1980s. Within the study area, the railroad bed has been removed,
and the right-of-way now serves as flood control. Outside the
study area, the railroad bed still exists, and in some places
tracks are still present.
Historic Data
This segment of railroad grade was a part of the Union Pacific line
that ran from Erie to downtown Boulder. It began operations in
1873 as the Denver and Boulder Valley Railroad Company. This
company had been formed in 1870 by John Evans, Walter Cheeseman,
William E. Turner, and William N. Byers. Subsequently the line was
acquired by the Union Pacific Railroad which extended the line to
west Boulder in 1881 and built the historic Boulder Depot in 1890
(Fetter 1983; Weiss 1981). The segment of the Union Pacific line
in the study area was in service until the late 1970s. Site 5BL469
was recorded in 1981 by Manuel Weiss.
Site 5BL6879 is the North Boulder Farmers Ditch. It is a bermed,
U-shaped ditch, four meters wide and two to three meters deep. It
is roughly parallel and south of the adjacent Boulder and Lefthand
Ditch (5BL6880), flowing for a total distance of approximately
1,850 feet in the study area. Two modern concrete channeling
structures were observed along the ditch in the study area,
indicating some of the changes made to this still active ditch
through time.
The North Boulder Farmers Ditch has a date of decree of 1862, with
a priority number of 11 for water from Boulder Creek, with an
appropriation of 1200 acre/feet of water. It was first enlarged in
1863 and again in 1864 for a 1400 acre/feet appropriation of water.
Site 5BL6880 is the Boulder and Lefthand Ditch. ' It i.s a bermed, U-
shaped ditch, four meters wide and two to three meters deep. It is
roughly parallel and north of the adjacent North Boulder Farmers
Ditch (5BL6879), flowing for a total distance of approximately
1,900 feet in the study area. The Boulder and Lefthand Ditch has
a decree date of 1873, with a priority number of 36 for 2000
acre/feet of water from Boulder Creek. It was first enlarged in
1876. The ditch is still active and maintained.
Site 5BL6881 is the Robert and Ruby Roney Farm, at 5172 Valmont
Road (Figures 2 & 3). The house, built about 1911, is the only
standing building remaining at the farm. All barns and sheds have
been demolished and debris removed.:• The house is a single-story
vernacular wood-framed building with a hip roof. Two shed roofed
additions are on the rear (south) of the house, which is
rectangular, 41'4" x 24'5". The foundation is sandstone laid in
portland cement mortar. The house is framed of 2 x 4's @ 16" on
centers, with painted clapboard siding. Directly above the
foundation is a 1 x 5" ribbon, and above this a water table
projects 1 i". Clapboards are above this extending to the top
fascia. The roof is steel over original wood shingles. A front
porch of poured concrete is 8' wide, with a hip roof.. The back
porch has been enclosed, it has a 2/12 single-slope roof. This is
behind the first shed addition of about 4/12 slope. The front doar
is in the center of the north facade, facing Valmont Road. The
rear door is at the east end of the enclosed porch. Windows are
double-hung wood sash, except fixed-sash windows on enclosed back
porch.
Historic Data
The land containing this farm was originally homesteaded in 1865 by
Joseph D. Fowler, about whom no information has been located.
The property was owned by James Roney by the early 1900's. James
Roney was a stationar-y•engineer in mining, and a farmer. He was
born in 1865 in Illinois. He and his older brother John (born 1861
or 1862) had come to Boulder from Kansas by 1885, and both worked
in a sawmill in Boulder at the time of the 1885 census. Both
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FIGURE 2 - Site 5BL6881, The Roney Farm house, 5172
Valmont. Road. View of the north & west elevations.
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FIGURE 3 = Site 5BL6881, The Roney Farm house, 5172
Valmont Road. View of the east elevation.
later became miners; Jim Roney and others were photographed in
front of the Niwot Mine in Ward in 1890. John settled in Ward, and
James moved to the Valmont property.
James married Mabel Copes (born 1869 in Kansas) in 1887. James and
Mabel (known as Minnie} had four children, all born in Colorado:
Roy (born December 1890}; Curtis (Feb 1896-Mar 29, 1902), John
(born June 1898), and Robert (born 1902}.
The house at 5172 Valmont road was built by the Roney's about 1911
(communication from Ruby Roney to K.C. Schneider). Robert lived
` there and married Ruby in 1927. The house at 5098 Valmont was
built about the same time, perhaps a few years earlier, It was
occupied by Robert's brother John. According to Ruby Roney's oral
history (tape 567, Carnegie), Robert and Ruby were dairy farmers,
growing alfalfa and hay 'f or cows. They also raised chickens and
horses, and the Roneys were original and long term participants in
Boulder's Pow Wow Rodeo. Bob also worked for the Post Office,
delivering mail to Caribou and Nederland.
The Roney family maintained ownership of the site until the early
1970s. The Schneiders subsequently used the farm to store
equipment from a mining company.
Site 5BL6882 is the James and Lucy Platt Farm at 5227 Valmont Road
(Figures~4~& 5). The farm consists of a house built about 1908, a
guest house, an animal shed, a root cellar, and the collapsed
remains of the barn. A modern garage is also present. The house
is a story-and-a-half vernacular wood-framed building with a hip
roof with sprung eaves. The house is 28 x 33'. The foundation is
poured concrete. The house is framed of 2 x 4's @ 16" on centers,
with painted drop siding. The roof is wood shingles. A single
flue chimney rises from center of the roof. Dormers with double-
hung wood sash windows are present in the roof on the north and
south. The west roof has an enlarged dormer projecting out, a
modification from the early 197os. The porch wraps a portion of
the south (front) and east sides of the house, with a roof
supported on "Tuscan" (Colonial Revival influence) wood columns.
Doors are at the center of the south and north facades. Windows
are double-hung wood sash.
A shed to the northwest of the house is covered with dre,p siding
and was probably built in the 1920s. It functioned at one time as
a chicken coop, and more recently was used for horse stalls. A
small gable-roofed building to the southwest of the house may be
contemporaneous. Its original function is unknown, although it was
reportedly used as a domicile during the depression. It was
remodeled in the 1970s into a studio. The collapsed barn consists
of a poured concrete foundation, with lower walls framed of rough-
sawn 2 x 6's @ 16" on centers, sheathed with horizontal boards
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FIGURE 4 - Site 5BL6882, The Platt Farm house, 5227
Valmont Road. View of the east & south elevations.
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FIGURE 5 - Site 5BL6882, The Platt Farm house, 5227
Valmont Road. View of the south and west
• elevations. Note expansion of dormer room, ca.
1970.
attached with wire nails. Upper wall panels are framed of planed
2 x 6's @ 24" on centers, and covered with spaced 1 x 12's. No
shingles are present, but there are numerous 3d box nails which
were appropriate for wood shingles.
Historic Data
The land was originally homesteaded by James J. Rhoads (also
spelled "Rhodes" and occasionally "Rhoades"), a farmer. Born in
Missouri in 1836, Rhoads was farming in the Valmont area by 1870
with his wife Rebecca, born in 1841 in Ohio, and their five-year-
old daughter Mary, born in Colorado.
James J. Rhoads was one of six children of Joseph (1812-1878) and
Elizabeth Rhoads (born c. 1807), who came to Boulder in _1859;
Joseph prospected on Gold Hill for three years, and moved into
Boulder Valley to begin farming in 1862. James J. Rhoads patented
the land of this site in 1872, but he did not stay in the Valmont
area. He had relocated before 1880, and may have moved to Larimer
County. However; two of his brothers, Merritt (born 1845) and
Francis (Frank, born 1847) also homesteaded in the same area of
Valmont. Merritt Rhoads and his wife and four children continued
to farm in the area, and Frank became a blacksmith and moved into
Boulder to live with his widowed mother.
By 1896, the land had apparently been transferred to James M.
Platt, a farmer and later County Water Commissioner. Platt was the
second sbn of Henry Platt (1818-1903), the elder of two Ohio
brothers who came to Boulder County from Iowa about 1870-76 to
A farm. The Platt brothers, Henry and Isaac, settled in the Valmont
area and had large families. Henry Platt is believed to have had
six children, Isaac (1859-1905), the namesake of Henry's younger
brother; James (1859/1860-1932), who built the house on the site;
William, who married Jennie Andrews in Boulder County in 1879;
Joe; Celestia (1880-1928), and perhaps Mary, who married James
Wilson in 1876.
Henry Platt's son James was born in Iowa in 1859 or 1860 (records
conflict).. James's first wife died about 1882; they had one son,
Roy G. (1880-1932), barn November 1880 in Iowa. James apparently
then came or returned to Colorado; he married Lucy Lloyd (1870-
1926) in 1885; she also. came from a farm family. They had eleven
children, Margaret (1886-1918), Charles (1888-1934), Harry (1891-
1946}, Laura (1894-1978), Herbert (1900-1941), Clara (1902-1929},
Richard (1905-?), Amy (1907-1918), Thomas Lloyd {1908-1982),
Lillian (1909; died in infancy), and Raymond (1911-1942).
In addition to farming, James M. Platt also served as Boulder
County's first water commissioner, beginning in 1907. The Platt
family demonstrated a long-term involvement with water resource
issues; in about 1932, James passed the position of county water
commissioner to one of his sons, Thomas L. Platt, who held it until
his retirement in 1974. Thomas L. Platt also served as a volunteer
daily weather observer and precipitation recorder for the National
Weather Service for some 42 years, one of the two longest tenures
• in that role in Colorado.
Thomas L. Platt and his wife, Cleo Forester Platt, had one son,
Thomas E. Platt, who apparently served as City of Boulder water
superintendent beginning in 1961. And James M. Platt's first
cousin once removed Nevin Platt (see below) was actively involved
in water rights acquisition and sale in conjunction with the
purchase and development of school properties in Boulder Valley.
The Platt family farming tradition was carried on by at least one
other of James M. Platt's grandsons; Carl D. Platt (1915-1980), one
of four children of Roy G. Platt, farmed in Boulder County until
1978, maintaining membership in the Boulder Valley Grange and
Valmont Presbyterian Church.
Henry's younger brother, Isaac (1834-1908), lived in Boulder County
from the mid- or late 1860s to 1886, when he moved to South Dakota,
where he stayed until his death. However, several of his twelve
children stayed in Colorado or returned. One son, John William
Platt (1880-?), married Barbara Andrus, the daughter of another
Valmont-area pioneer family; one of their children was Nevin J.
Platt (1902-1991), for whom ,Plat 1 Middle School is named. Nevin
Platt was a key figure in the~'-~onsolidation of school districts in
the Boulder area; he served <<s the first superintendent of the
Fairview `District on its creation in 1950, and as one of the first
assistant superintendents of the Boulder Valley School District
when it was established in 1959.
By 1915, 12 acres immediately east of the Platt Farm had been
acquired by Archdeacon Eleanor W. Sibbald (1859-1919), who came to
Boulder to become pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church with his
wife Edith Hungerford Sibbald (1871-1937) and their four children
in December 1899. There is no indication that anyone lived on the
parcel. At some point the Platt Farm was acquired by the Howe
family (Howe Mortuary), and in the 1950s Goldine Howe lived in the
~ .
house.' In about 1969 Fettig bought the property,. and immediately
sold the house to Neugebauer. Tn 1976 Everett Wiehe bought the
house and lived in it for 20.5 years.
Site 5BL6883 is• the Arthur Gilliam Farm at 5333 Valmont Road
(Figures 6 & 7). The house, built about 1920, and a storage
building are all that remains of the farm. The house is a single--
story vernacular wood-framed building with a cross-gable roof, with
three shed roofed additions. The house is roughly rectangular,
35'6" x 30'8". The first shed is to the north (rear) of the
original house, extending about half the length of the house on the
west end. This may have been part of the original construction or
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FIGURE 6 - Site 5BL6883, The Gilliam Farm house,
5333 Valmont Road. View of the south elevation.
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FIGURE 7 - Site 5BL6883, The Gilliam Farm house,
5333 Valmont Road. View of the north and west •
elevations. '
was added in the 1920s soon after the original building. The
headroom at the low (north) end of the shed is only six feet.
Extending north of this shed is a poured concrete addition, with
12" thick walls. The poured concrete has the marks of horizontal
1 x 12 boards used for forms, thus it was built before plywood
became commonly used for concrete forms ca. 1950. The roof of the
concrete shed continues down from the lowpoint of the first
addition. Therefore, in order to have adequate inside headroom,
the concrete floor of the concrete addition is 4'6" below the
wooden floor level of the house. The last addition is a wood-
framed shed with its roof sloping down to the east. It was also
built on the rear {north) side of the original, on the east end.
It does extend slightly north of the concrete addition, and its
easterly wall is 6' farther west then the east end of the original
block. This addition is probably post-1946.
The foundation of the house is not visible. The house is framed of
2 x 4's, and covered with painted drop siding. The roof is now
steel, over wood shingles. A double-flue chimney of modern yellow
brick rises from the gable roof at the north edge where the shed
roof adjoins. The interior fireplace is of wire-cut brick, popular
in the 1920s. A porch is present on the west end of the front, 7'
x 2 0' , with a shed roof . Doors are in the center of the front
(south), and at the northwest corner of the latest shed addition.
Windows are double-hung wood sash with the top sash divided into
three vertical lights. The last two additions contain
aluminum sliders.
The storage building is framed of rough sawn 2 x 4's @ 16" on
centers, covered with drop siding. It has a gabled roof with a
3/12 slope, now covered with steel lying over sheathing of car
siding on the south side of the gable, and close-laid 1 x 8's on
the north side.
Historic Data
The land was originally patented by Thomas J. Jones in 1864, who
brought his wife Sarah (born 1830 in Ohio) and three children to
Boulder. County from Nebraska in 1859. Jones, born in 1820 in
Illinois, came to Boulder as a miner, but by 1860 had built the
first building in the Valmont area, a hotel and stage stop called
the Valmont House (Dyni 1989), or the Tommy Jones Stage Stop,
located about z mile east of the Gilliam Farm. He lists his
occupation in the 1870 and 1880 census' as farming. Jones was
apparently expanding his land holdings, and never lived on this
parcel. -
In 1904, Deborah Gilliam, a widow born in Missouri in 1858, moved
to 640 Mapleton Street in Boulder, evidently to live with her
younger sister, Loula M. Burrus. Deborah Gilliam and her late
husband, Alfonso Gilliam (also from Missouri), had two children,
Arthur W. (born 1894 in Missouri) and Leta (born 1898 in Colorado).
The 1910 census defined her occupation as °has own income and
interests."
By 1915, the site was listed in Arthur W. Gilliam's ownership, but
the house had not yet been constructed. Gilliam was apparently
farming it during that period, however, while continuing to live in
tawn with his mother; they were boarders at 1838 Pine Street by
1916.
By 1921, Arthur W. Gilliam had married, had a house constructed,
and moved to. the site. His wife, Marguerite, was an artist and was
an instructor at the University of Colorado. Gilliam eventually
owned 60 acres here, and raised corn. He farmed the land until
1960, when it was bought by Bruce and Mildred Vaughn, who
established the Boulder Valley Poultry Farm. Arthur Gilliam.lived
in the house until his death, and it has been occupied by tenants
since.
Site 5BL6884 is the Marcus and Susie Harper Farm, at 4948 Valmont
Road (Figures 8 & 9). The house, built about 1910, and a barn
remain from the farm. The house is a single story vernacular wood-
framed building with a hip roof. The house is rectangular, 42'6"
x 24'0". The foundation is fieldstone under most of the house,
with a poured concrete cellar under the rear (south) 8' of the
house, entered from outside. Th•' stone foundation supports 2 x 8
planed floor joists. The house is framed of 2 x 4's with clapboard
siding. The roof is now roll roofing over wood shingles. A
collapsed single-flue brick chim:ney.is at the center of the roof.
A porch runs along the front (north) facade, with turned wooden
posts supporting a shed roof. The porch floor is tongue and groove
fir, and is collapsed. Front and rear doors are in the center of
the north and south facades. Windows are double-hung wood sash.
The barn is a saltbox frame with drop siding. A close inspection
could not be made.
Historic Data
The entire northwest a of Section 28 was originally-patented by
Thomas J. Graham in 1867. Graham, born in Pennsylvania in 1832,
originally came to Boulder Country as a miner. He evidently did
well at that, with the 1870 census listing the value of his
personal property at $25,000, (a. large sum for the time) without
real estate ownership. Graham apparently left mining (except
perhaps as an investor or owner), and became a real estate and
insurance agent in Boulder; he also performed delinquent loan
collections and provided investment advice and management.
In 1871, Graham sold the 160 acres to Charles Dabney. Dabney
developed a subdivision to the southwest of this area, but
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FIGURE 8 - Site SBL6884, The Harper Farm house,
4948 Valmont Road. View of the north elevation.
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FIGURE 9 - Site 5BL6884, The Harper Farm house,
4948 Valmont Road. View of the east elevation.
apparently did not do much here. Lewis W. Young (1866-1925), a
divorced lawyer from a mid-western farming family, acquired the
quarter section in 1907, and held it until about 1911. During this
period, he evidently constructed two ditches_on the property; shown
on the 1915 Drumm's Wall Map; these: ditches apparently no longer
exist.
The parcel was subsequently split, and by 1913 Marcus and Susie
Harper, 'farmers, are first listed in the city directory as
residents of what is now 4948 Valmont Road. The Harpers lived
there until 1958, when it was purchased by the Helgoths who moved
their auto salvage business to the property.
Adjacent to the east is what is now 5022 Valmont, with a modern
house owned by the Marcue Family. That building apparently
replaced another historic farm, the Perl and Mary Mosher Farm.
Perl J. Mosher (born 1888) and his wife Mary (born 1893) apparently
moved onto the property in 1910; they were married the same year.
In 1911, Young transferred the property to him, and it stayed in
the Mosher family through variou~~ transfers to 1949. Perl's
father, Philip S. Mosher, was a farmer. He and his wife Sarah were
both born in New York, in 1866 and 1868 respectively. Perl was the
eldest of their five children; the youngest, Ralph (born 1906} and
his wife Margaret, were the final family members to own the house.
Margaret transferred it to Garth and Mary Ellen Hill in 1949.
07`HIIt MANIFFSTATiONS
There are several sheds and corrals in the study area, separate
from the farm building sites. Most of these structures are recent,
but some may be older then 50 years. Some recent sheds incorporate
older boards, of dimensions no longer available. None of these
structures are of archaeological or historical value. The
materials used may be of value for restoration or rehab of other
historic cultural properties, however. Strands of very early
barbed wire were noted at the Platt Farm and in the pastures to the
south (Fettig parcel). They are mixed with later varieties. The
earliest is a ty~e_called Relly's Thorny.Fence.,. Gammon Variation by
Clifton, with_.a_patent date of February 1868.
~.g
RECONIMENDATIONS
The cultural properties documented within the study area were
evaluated for their significance and eligibility to the National
Register of Historic Places (NRHP), the State Register of Historic
Propertied (SRHP), and far local Landmarking. Significance and
eligibility of all sites is discussed below.
Significance and Eligibility Assessments
NRHP eligibility is judged according the criteria set forth in
36CFR 60.4 below:
"National Register Criteria" means the following criteria
established by the Secretary of the Interior for the use in
evaluating and determining the eligibility of properties for
listing in the National Register: The quality of significance in
American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and
culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and
objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting,
materials, workmanship, feeling and association and:
(A) That are associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
(B) That are associated with the lives of persons significant in
our past; or
{C) That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period
or method of construction, or that represent the work of a
master, or that possess high artistic values, or that
represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose.
components may lack individual distinction; or
{D) That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information
important in prehistory of history.
The State Register of Historic Properties uses essentially the same
criteria as above, with the addition of a fifth criterion, that
being "geographical importance". Local Landmarking is designed to
recognize cultural properties of local significance in Boulder
County.
Sites SBL6879 and 5BL688o, the North Boulder Farmers Ditch and the
Boulder and Lefthand Ditch may be eligible to the NRHP for their
association with the development of agriculture. They are
relatively early, particularly the North Boulder Farmers Ditch, and
essentially intact ditches. Ther-e are recent concrete gates, but
the ditches retain the engineering and features of 29th century
ditches. These ditches are protected by their own easements.
None of the standing buildings at sites 5BL6881, 5BL6882, 58L6883,
or 5BL6884 are eligible to the NRHP, nor are they likely to be
eligible to the SRHP. They are undistinguished examples of common
or vernacular architecture, and while they are associated with
agriculture, they are not associated with significant agricultural
events or innovations, nor are they associated with historically
significant people. There are no architectural gems in the Park.
The Park area as a whole retains the .feeling of a rural and
agricultural area, however the cultural landscape has a limited
ability to convey this association. None of the farms are
completely intact as farm complexes, most of them no longer have
standing barns or outbuildings,. The most..dramatic agricultural
feature,of,.the built environment~is the grain elevators at the
Poultry Farm, which are not yet old enough to be considered
historic. Nonetheless, they may be of use to the Park.
.'The houses at the Platt and Roney Farms, while not eligible to the
NRHP or SRHP, are likely to be eligible for either city or county
ocal Landmarking. The Platt Farm house, a simple vernacular
building, is the most interesting architecture of the farm houses
in the Park, but its integrity has been impaired somewhat by the
expansion of the west dormer room. James. Platt can also be
considered locally significant as Boulder Counties first Water
Commissioner. If either of these buildings are of use to the park,
they should be preserved. Landmarking will preserve the sites, but
may constrain future uses or necessary modification or expansions
to make the buildings useful. The pros and cons of Landmarking
should be carefully considered in context with any future plans for
the Park and the buildings. It may be of value to express the long
history of agriculture in the area through brochures or trail
signs.
REFERENCES CITED
Eighmy, Jeff
1984 Colorado Plains Prehistoric Context. Colorado Historical
5aciety, Denver.
Dyni, Anne
1989 Pioneer Voices of the Boulder Valley. Boulder County ~s
and Open Space Department.
Fetter, Richard
1983 Frontier Boulder. Johnson Publishing, Boulder.
Friedman, Paul D.
1989 Boulder Historic Context Project. City. of Boulder
Department of Planning and Community Development.
Gleichman, Peter J., and Scott E. Simmons
1994 Archaeological Investigations at the Tommy Jones Stage ,
Stop. Native Cultural Services, Report Submitted to
Historic Boulder, Inc.
Rice, Phil
1995 ftructural Evidence Remaining at the Tommy Jones Stage
Stop. Native Cultural Services, Report Submitted to
Historic Boulder, Inc.
Jenson, F.S. (ed.)
1954 The oil and Gas Fields of Colorado. Rocky Mountain
Association of Geologists.
Mehls, Steven F.
1984 Colorado Plains Historic Context. Colorado Historical
Society, Denver.
McDowell, Kay Short, and Tim Ostwald
1993 The Descendants of Thomas A. Akins and Margaret Ross - Bt
2. Boulder Genealogical Society Quarterly 25(4):118-125.
Pease, Ernest Mondell
1930 Boyhood of E.M. Pease: Autobiography. Manuscript on file,
Carnegie Library, Boulder.
Schoolland, John B.
1980 Boulder In Perspective - From Search for Gold to The Gold
of Research. Johnson Publishing Co, Boulder.
_ _
smith, Phyllis
1981 A Look at Boulder: From Settlement to City. Pruett,
Boulder.
Washburne, Chester W.
1908 Development in the Boulder Oil Fields, Colorado.
Contributions to Economic Geology, Part II.
3~