Greeley, Salt Lake, Pacific Railroad Grade

Listed: 2009

Constructed: 1881

Threat: Development

Closest Town to Resource: Greeley

Significance: This National Register-listed linear landscape is associated with early efforts to connect northern Colorado with the transcontinental railroad. Constructed in 1881 and abandoned in 1988, this section of the rail line represents more than 100 years of railroad history. This is one of Colorado's few abandoned rail lines that retains its historic alignment, railroad bed, ballast, ties, and rails. The site includes three historic bridges, one of which is a turntable manufactured in Chicago in 1892. The site was threatened by water pipeline improvements that called for installing a 5-foot-diameter water pipeline 10 feet deep along the route. The City of Greeley, however, installed the pipeline with minimal impact to the rail bed, with one tunnel drilled under it to create access to the other side. The Army Corps permitted these mitigation strategies.

Update: The pipeline project is complete despite ongoing property owner concerns. The federal mandate required Greeley to respect historic structures and minimize environmental impact. After a long ten-year process, the project is now considered a save.

Listed: 2005

Constructed: Various

Threat: Highway Expansion

Closest Town to Resource: Idaho Springs to Graymont

Significance: Numerous communities abutting and sometimes from Idaho Springs to Graymont attest to the 19th and history of mineral, milling, timber, and railroad industries Springs has been designated a National Register Georgetown/Silver Plume a National Historic Landmark District other structures and sites in the area are believed eligible National Registers of Historic Places. These communities were of the concern over the proposed widening of I-70.

Site Needs: Continued monitoring, outreach, and participation review.

Update: CPI is a consulting party for CDOT and monitors proposed changes to the communities along I-70. Local groups in Idaho Springs, in particular, have been especially vigilant in monitoring any highway widening plans.

Listed: 2002

Constructed: 1872

Threat: Natural elements; fire

Closest Town to Resource: Littleton

Significance: Residence of Major Robert Boyles Bradford, Denver pioneer who founded the Bradford Wagon route from Denver to Leadville and South Park property is in present-day Ken Caryl Ranch and National Register of Historic Places. The public considered eyesore in a spectacular open space park. campaign to increase knowledge of the site’s significance support preservation. The Ken Caryl Ranch Master State Historical Fund helped fund the development and plan.

In 2004, the Ken Caryl Ranch Master Association, the State Historical Fund, the Gates Family Foundation, the John B. and Mildred Holmes Foundation, the Boettcher Foundation, and others funded the structural stabilization to develop the site as an outdoor theater and interpretive education center. The site had been used as a laboratory for archaeology students from Metropolitan State College, the Colorado School of Mines, and the University of Denver. The project earned the Stephen H. Hart Award for excellence in preservation from the Colorado Historical Society in 2004.