Welcome to the
Cultural Resources Web Page!
The Open House at Green Mountain Lodge, Saturday, October 8 was a success!
Thanks to all who braved a snowy day to hike up to the Lodge for some hot chocolate and cookies and to warm up in front of the fire. The Civilian Conervation Corps (CCC) built the Lodge in 1935 to create a place where our community could gather -- and OSMP is carrying on that tradition. In case you missed the Open House, you can still learn about renting the facility by visiting the Facility Rental page on our website.
Hikers from Dave Sutherland's Autumn Colors hike stopped by for hot chocolate!
Green Mountain Lodge in the snow
You can learn more about Green Mountain Lodge and the Flagstaff Cultural Landscape District (a Boulder County Landmark) by taking the Flagstaff Summit Adventure hike!
New Cultural Resources Hike!
Hiking in Mount Sanitas: The more things change, the more they stay the same!!!
New Information about the South Mesa Cultural Landscape hike:
OSMP's Sam Bock, Outreach specialist and Junior Ranger Assistant, loves history and spent a number of hours researching and writing about the Brammeier death near the Dunn House at the entrance of the South Mesa Trailhead. When it happened in 1902, it was huge news, so Sam was able to rely on a number of articles from the Daily Camera for information. Read about the shooting 
near the Dunn House and take the cultural resource hike. We would like to thank our friends at the Carnegie Library for Local History for their help and fabulous collection.
OSMP won two awards from Historic Boulder, Inc.!
OSMP was given two awards at the April 4 Historic Boulder, Inc. Annual Preservation Awards. The first was for the rehabilitation of Green Mountain Lodge and the second for the repair and rehabilitation of the Viele Shed on the Viele/Van Vleet Homestead, a city of Boulder historic landmark. The east wall of the stone shed was collapsing and the stucco, or parge coat, on the entire building was failing, putting the structure at risk. The east wall was rebuilt in the original style of stone masonry and stucco was removed and mortar repaired along the other walls. The shed was originally built to store equipment for the Vieles dairy farm operation and today, over 100 years later, it is serving its original purpose as it is used by our agricultural lessees in their cattle ranching operation. The rehabilitation of both Green Mountain Lodge and the Viele Shed were made possible in part by a generous grant from the Boulder County Historic Landmark Rehabilitation Grant Program -- thank you!
Historic mortar is repaired by hand
East wall beginning to cave in
Viele shed after repair!
Leave No Trace Goes for Cultural Resources, too!
Graffitti is an ever present problem on OSMP, but it's a growing issue now that spring and summer are here. Paint and markers can leave permanent damage, especially to cultural resources. Besides being unsightly and damaging, it's illegal! (See Boulder Revised Code 5-4-2, prohibiting removal or damage of public property.) If you spot graffitti anywhere on our beautiful system, please report it by calling us at 303-441-3440 or sending us an email. 
Ranger Brian Litwin cleans graffitti off of a stone on Halfway House terrace.
Learn about OSMP's Antique Farm Equipment Exhibit
Every item in the Antique Farm Equipment Exhibit located at the OSMP Administrative Office was used by farmers and ranchers on the land which is now owned by the City of Boulder.
Historic preservation work continues!
Historic preservation work continues on structures throughout our system. Here are a few updates:
McGilvery Cabin:
Preservation work on the McGilvery Cabin, located on the Homestead Trail on the way to the Shadow Canyon Trail accessible from the South Mesa Trailhead, are complete! The cabin was built in the 1880s and is one of the oldest standing cabins in the area. It represents both our ranching and summer resort heritage. It was in danger of collapsing due to a leaky roof and deteriorated foundation. The roof was covered with asphalt, rolled roofing and a new stone foundation was creating from rocks that had fallen out of the original foundation.You can learn more about the cabin by taking the South Mesa Cultural Landscape hike.
After
New foundation made from original stones
East elevation, free of debris and with new, sound foundation
Before
McGilvery Cabin before foundation repair
Vegetation and debris too close to structure
Because of its location, the cabin has suffered some deterioration in a number of the wood logs and the foundation. Vegetation and debris were cleared from the immediate perimeter and repairs were made to the foundation.
Restoration work on these buildings is made possible by funds from the Colorado Lottery
and a generous grant from Boulder County.
Thank you!
Let's go hiking!
Enjoy one or all of these self-guided hikes which are written for people of all ability levels who enjoy the outdoors but want to learn about Boulder history, too! They range in ability levels from easy to difficult. We want you to enjoy your cultural resources, but as you do, please stay on trail be respectful of the resources. Refrain from climbing on resources, collecting any artifacts you may find or vandalizing the properties.
Hikers atop Green Mountain circa 1920
Below are only five of the many potential "historic hikes" in our system. Enjoy these for starters and keep an eye on this web site for more in the near future!
OSMP lands were home to aboriginal peoples like the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
For more information or "What's that building on the such and such trail":
For more information about the program, to ask a question about a resource on OSMP lands or to share your own knowledge of our cultural resources, please email Julie Johnson, Cultural Resources Coordinator at
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.
Last Updated on Thursday, 09 August 2012 14:27
Open Space & Mtn Parks