Historic Routt County: Saving the Places You Love

(This article was published in Steamboat Neighbors Magazine, May 2023 edition)

Steamboat Springs and Routt County were on the cusp of change in the early 1990s. Working ranches dotted the rural landscapes, while historic homes and modest storefronts defined the towns, yet development pressures were rapidly increasing. A group of local residents and property owners, fearing that character-defining resources would be lost, began to identify and document the county's historic buildings and ranches. By 1999, volunteers had established Historic Routt County (HRC), a 501-c-3 non-profit organization with the mission "To preserve and promote the historic character of Routt County Communities and Rural Areas."

Historic Routt County collaborates with willing private and public property owners and others to document and save historic buildings and landscapes. HRC assists with property research, provides technical information for preservation projects, and advocates for local, county, state, and national preservation policies. HRC differs from museums. Their focus is to archive, display, and interpret valued components of our heritage such as documents, photographs, and objects, and to host educational programs.

Much of Historic Routt County's work is critical to preserving local history. In the early 2000s, HRC partnered with UC Denver's Graduate School of Architecture to survey and photograph more than 100 working Routt County ranches. Many of these ranches have since changed hands, been subdivided, or lost historic buildings. HRC's surveys are the only remaining record of those places. Recently, HRC was actively involved in drafting the new Historic Preservation chapter of the Routt County Master Plan, adopted by the Routt County Commissioners in August 2022.

Historic Routt County partners with local governments, Federal agencies, business owners, ranchers, and individuals to rehabilitate and document vital historic resources that are often the defining features of a landscape and/or community. Since its inception, HRC has helped owners to successfully nominate more than 100 individual properties to the City of Steamboat Springs, Routt County, the State of Colorado, and National Historic Registers. These designations provide many benefits to the owners and become a part of our shared history.

Historic Routt County spearheaded the efforts to SAVE all three of Colorado's Most Endangered Places in Routt County: Rock Creek Stage Stop, Hahns Peak Fire Lookout, and Crossan's Market: Recipient of the 2020 Colorado Governor's Award for Historic Preservation. Many of Routt County's visible historic buildings have been saved as a result of HRC's involvement including The Mesa Schoolhouse, Yock Cabin, Diamond Window Cabin, Arnold Barn, and The Julie Harris Theatre.

We are excited about the future of Historic Routt County and have many projects in store for the upcoming years. HRC's new website will be launched in May for Preservation Month.  Look for new content, updated resources, and the ability to engage with our organization. Not only will the website be a tool for historic preservation initiatives, but there will also be interactive mapping applications for projects and up-to-date volunteer opportunities. HRC is working closely with the US Forest Service on several projects over the next few years: documenting arborglyphs in North Routt County, helping with the nomination of the Farwell Ditch to the National Register, and developing a monitoring program for historic buildings on Forest Service lands. We look forward to creating new and fun volunteer opportunities and sponsorship opportunities for you, our neighbors, and the community.

Historic Routt County's Executive Director Kelly Halpin is assisted by a dedicated board and volunteers. HRC’s work is funded by generous donors, grants, a portion of the Museum and Heritage Fund Mill levy, and fees for services such as preparing historic designations, grant administration, and research. HRC invites you to join in the preservation of Routt County’s historic resources by making a tax-deductible donation to support our efforts, volunteering for future projects, nominating your historic property to a historic register, and visiting our website: www.historicrouttcounty.org. Your support makes a difference, please donate today.