Hartsel Area Historic Sites

BUCKLEY RANCH

CR 59
National Register - designated 1/28/2000
The Buckley Ranch was originally settled by James B. Putnam in 1881. Putnam raised cattle and hay and by 1886 had expanded his holdings to more than 8 hundred acres.

In 1899, Ada Harrington Buckley acquired the property and grew the ranch into one of Park County's largest sheep operations. The ranch is now part of the Spinney Mountain State Wildlife Area.

COLORADO SALT WORKS

3858 Highway 285
National Register - designated 2/1/2001
South Park's salty marshes had long been used by American Indians as a source for salt. Early pioneer Charles L. Hall saw a business opportunity and erected the Colorado Salt Works on Salt Creek near present day Hartsel. Perhaps one of Colorado's earliest industries, the Salt Works evaporated salt-laden spring water to produce the much-valued crystal salt until 1870.

GUIRAUD-McDOWELL RANCH

CO 9, Garo (between Fairplay and Hartsel)
National Register - designated 12/16/2004
The Guiraud-McDowell Ranch was established by the Guiraud family in 1862 and quickly became one of South Park’s preeminent ranch operations. After her husband Adolphe’s death in 1875, Marie Guiraud continued to grow ranch operations, taking advantage of the arrival of the railroad in Park County by platting the nearby town of Garo. 

HARTSEL DEPOT

12888 Highway 24
Park County Historic Landmark - designated 12/03/2009
Once one of the busiest freight and passenger depots on the Colorado Midland Railroad line, the Hartsel train depot brought in visitors to the popular Hartsel Hot Springs and shipped hundreds of tons of hay and cattle to the Front Range.

HARTSEL SCHOOLS

24 Valley Dr.
Park County Historic Landmark - designated 2/13/2003
First built on Hartsel Springs Ranch property in the late 1800s, the Hartsel School buildings were moved to the present location in town sometime before 1908. The school not only provided education for generations of Hartsel area children, but also acted as the social center of the community, hosting box suppers, Christmas programs, card playing, plays, and community meetings.

SALT WORKS RANCH

3858 Highway 285
National Register - designated 2/2/2001
Established in 1862 by Charles L. Hall, the Salt Works Ranch is still owned by Hall's descendents. Many of the original buildings, including an impressive Second Empire style ranch house, remain intact and the property continues as a working cattle ranch.

SANTA MARIA/EM RANCH

3482 CR 439
National Register - designated 10/15/2002
Named for the Santa maria Springs located on the property, the ranch was known as the EM Ranch when first established by Hardy Epperson in 1874. The ranch headquarters includes a variety of historic buildings, including a large ranch house, bunkhouse, barn, blacksmith shop, shed, chicken coop, well house and several outhouses. Zebulon Pike's exploration party reportedly camped on land now part of the Santa Maria Ranch in December of 1806.

THREE-MILE GULCH

Hartsel vicinity
National Register - designated 9/13/2011
The Threemile Gulch Prehistoric Archaeological District in Colorado is historically important due to the minimally disturbed and distinctive record of prehistoric human settlement found there. The area was repeatedly reoccupied from Late Paleoindian (a term for the first peoples who entered and inhabited North and South America during the final glacial episodes of the Ice Age) through the Late Prehistoric periods, also called the Pre-Contact period.