Hunter Creek Roadhouse to Finish Restoration in Fall?
Built in the early 1900s, a roadhouse still stands in the Hunter Creek Valley near Aspen.
During its heyday, Aspen miners used the roadhouse as lodging and the area to homestead. Cabins, a shop, a dairy farm, a produce farm, and a sawmill for lumber popped up around the meadows to serve the mining population and their families. It became known as Adelaide Ranch.
Volunteers from Aspen and all over the nation have worked since 2022 to restore these buildings to their former glory. Volunteers travel to the area once a year in the fall to work on various restoration projects. With fall fast approaching, volunteers are sought once again from Aug. 25 to Sept. 20 to work on the roadhouse in one week rotations.
For example, something that makes this particular roadhouse significant in the historical record is the evidence of a milk cooler at the front of the house, which was not common in this region of the U.S. at this time. This cooler was connected to a spring-fed water system. Much like the name says, the milk cooler was meant to store milk and other goods to keep them cool.
Despite the dependency of the miners and the importance to the historical record, the land sat in decay and disrepair for decades after it was abandoned. Dates written in concrete indicate that restoration efforts were made in the 1950s from the property owners at the time, which were sheepherders, but after that, the buildings continued to become more and more dilapidated.
The United States Forest Service (USFS) obtained ownership in the 1970s, but real work was not done to preserve the site and its buildings until 2021.
“So, it’s tremendously important from a historical perspective,” said George Newman, founder and director of the Hunter Creek Historical Foundation. “It’s so visible, you know, the Hunter Creek Trail goes right by these structures that are seen by hundreds of people who are biking and hiking. And so, for them it’s an opportunity to just think and reflect, ‘Wow, I wonder who lived up here, and how did they survive?’ So it’s a great story of Aspen.”
The Hunter Creek Historical Foundation was founded that year by five local history buffs. They aptly partnered with Historicorps, a Morrison-based nonprofit that provides volunteers of all skill levels with hands-on experience preserving historic structures on public lands across America, according to its website.
Historicorps conducted a condition assessment on the site, led by Mardita Murphy, a program manager at the nonprofit. She and her team reviewed the condition and history of the entire site and presented a preservation plan with rough budgets to the foundation. The foundation then fundraised and prepared for a phased preservation effort on site.
Based on their assessments and excavations, artifacts from Native American tribes and miners can still be found such as projectiles, agricultural tools, and cans and bottles. During the early history of the site, the land was occupied by the Ute Nation. When prospectors moved into the valley in 1879 to establish mining, specifically for silver, and homesteading efforts in nearby Aspen, they displaced the native people.
“So you see, a lot of people have been moving into the valley to establish homesteads and work the land for agriculture,” Murphy said. “And there are those big two initiatives happening concurrently. So the Utes were really pushed out of that area as soon as you see European white settlers moving into the area for various purposes.”
USFS, the Hundred Creek Historical Foundation, and Historicorps have worked for three years in the Hunter Creek Valley to preserve the land and its treasures, as well as restore these structures one by one. This fall, the roadhouse will finally receive its facelift.
The shop building was the first to be restored in 2022. It received a new foundation, and the team stabilized the building’s structure.
The roadhouse has already undergone a first phase. The project during this time was to replace the roof. The outhouse was also stabilized. Other restoration tasks that were left from the shop were also completed, such as stabilization to the milk cooler.
“So, this site is interesting because there is a road up on the hillside, and there are ditches that were established during William Coch’s occupation,” Murphy said.
These ditches became blocked at some point. The blockages were causing water and grading issues that built soil up around the foundation of the roadhouse. Ironically, because the soil was building up around the foundation, it held it together and kept the roadhouse in good condition until the crew could come out and officially reinforce in 2023. Swales were put in to divert the water away from the buildings.
The second phase on the roadhouse, which runs from late August to early September, will replace the foundation. This fall, an architectural history project will also be led. Another building on the site — the miner’s cabin, which Newman argues is in the worst condition out of all the buildings — will be studied to determine what sort of restoration efforts it needs.
He said each structure costs about $100,000 to restore. So far, $250,000 has been spent, and another $200,000 more in support is estimated. The funds are gathered from donations from the community and other philanthropic benefactors.
The three organizations are calling for volunteers to help out with this part of the restoration process, according to a press release from Historicorps. All meals and camping accommodations will be provided to volunteers.
Session 1: Aug. 25-30
Session 2: Sept. 1-6
Session 3: Sept. 8-13
Session 4: Sept. 15-20
By: Regan Mertz I The Aspen Times I July 26, 2024