Draft:Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch

Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch, aka Pamige Ranch. Larimer County, Colorado

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description

SETTING

The Pamige Ranch is presently situated in northern Colorado’s Poudre Canyon, about 20 miles northwest of Fort Collins in Larimer County, Colorado; it is accessible down an estimated 500-foot concrete driveway via Stove Prairie Road, which is 15 miles west on Highway 14 from the town of Bellvue. Moreover, the Hollemon Homestead remains about halfway between the Stove Prairie Schoolhouse (5LR.848 Colorado State Register listed 1998) and the Poudre River; therefore, it would have been a prominent landmark for fellow Euro-American settlers in the early 20th century. The primary cluster of buildings appears interspersed with ponderosa pine and aspen trees and there is a dry creek bed bisecting the livestock stables and primary residence—this provides some distinction in the landscape between historic livestock management activities that took place on the land, and rest and relaxation inside the primary and additional residences.

Several buildings and structures are positioned advantageously atop foundations that have been solidified— straddling high points on the land—or that subtly follow the ranch’s rolling hills. Others are built atop flatter areas that were more conducive to construction. The Homestead is adjacent to the Cache la Poudre Wilderness and Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests; indeed, most of the parcel, today, consists of forested acreage that is income-producing via timber harvesting. There are sizeable patches of apparent burn damage from the 2012 High Park fire, which covered over 80,000 acres altogether in the Poudre Canyon. However, the fire did not damage any buildings or structures within the Homestead’s primary cluster of activity.

RURAL LANDSCAPE FEATURES

Land Use Activities: The Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch, aka Pamige Ranch, was used historically as a cattle ranch, for American Quarter-horse breeding, and as a Dude Ranch. It is currently used for timber production.

Site (Established 1915): The primary residence and all other buildings and structures are wood frame clad in vertical board-and-batten siding typical of homesteads in the Western United States at the turn of the twentieth century. Given that there was a sawmill in the Buckhorn Creek area operated by homesteader Jacob Flowers and family as early as 1873 as well as a lumber mill in the Stove Prairie area operated by Emmanuel Vannorsdel in 1896, the boards and batts at the Hollemon Homestead were most likely made with pinewood that was sourced locally. The recorded date of construction for all the buildings and structures, except the additional residence, is 1910; however, the Homestead Act claim for the original parcel of land was bequeathed to Jesse Hollemon in 1911, which probably accounts for the period of time it took for him to finish construction, “prove up” his claim by submitting evidence of residency and improvements to the local land office—who then forwarded the claim to Washington, D.C.—and, finally, to receive approval and the official land patent (see Figure 26 for map). A later Homestead Act claim (see Figure 27 for map) reflects a November 1915 deed conveyance to Lillie Anderson for a parcel adjacent to Hollemon’s—this is relevant because, at an unknown date, Anderson evidently sold approximately one quarter-section of her parcel (SW ¼ SE ¼ 17) either to Hollemon, or a subsequent owner, because the northernmost part of the present ranch boundary (see Figure 28) consists of this area of Anderson’s original claim. Despite this, and the original parcel being partitioned in the mid-twentieth century as well as several changes in ownership, the Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch remains remarkably intact, overall, and thus has potential for inclusion on the National Register as a rural historic landscape.

Today’s Pamige Ranch totals 67 acres and the site consists of roughly three categories of landscape: forested, partially cleared of forest (primary cluster), and grassy pastureland. The predominant tree is ponderosa pine, but some aspens are present. The area of the parcel between Stove Prairie Road and the primary cluster of buildings is partially cleared, with just a few trees growing among mostly short prairie grass. The primary cluster rests about 500 feet down the driveway from Stove Prairie Road and is partially cleared; but it maintains several trees, interspersed throughout the buildings, that produce shade. The area west of the primary cluster follows a steeply inclining mountainous area with trees downed by the 2012 fire, which continues for about 500 feet before reaching the western boundary. This mountainous area continues north for about 1000 feet until it reaches intersecting timber stands. There is a stand of trees south of the primary cluster, which clears out to a Jeep Road known as “Bent Timber Ln,” which leads off the parcel. Water primarily reaches Pamige Ranch via snowmelt—the Bellvue, Colorado area receives an annual average of about 118 inches. Drainage occurs via a creek bed that slopes down between the primary residence and the livestock stables. Indeed, there are numerous other slopes within the primary cluster: the primary residence and tool shed rest on a relatively flat area of land, while the bunkhouse, machine shop, and livestock shed are positioned atop a slope that rises to the southwest of the primary residence. The land continues, from these perched buildings, on a slight upward slope to the west, where the wood shop and livestock stables are positioned on a relatively flat area; a path from these buildings leads upward onto the mountain to the west. Buildings

Main Ranch House (Primary Residence, 1911): The main residence, at 2,052 square feet, is a broad, low one-story ranch-style house in vernacular wood frame construction with a granite stone foundation, board and batten frame siding, and a composite shingle roof. An addition was made sometime in the 1950s to the western end of the house that gave space for two bedrooms. An appraiser estimated in 1986 that approximately 60% of the building was original and the other 40% came from the addition; indeed, the original residence’s primary mass remains intact and complementary materials were used on the exterior. The boards and bats are made of pinewood. There are three distinct roof ridges with two parallel and one perpendicular in relation to each other. The primary roof ridge has a side gable, each, on the north and south ends, and the other two ridges are cross gabled on their side and rear. The house maintains irregular fenestration and the windows appear to be recent replacements, although the original openings are intact. The windows each open with aluminum surrounds and are encased with white wood trim.

Machine Shed, Breezeway (AKA: “Farm Implement Equipment Shed,” 1911), and Bunkhouse (AKA: “Additional Residence,” 1970; Figure 8, Figure 13): The machine shed and single-room bunkhouse encompass 1,928 square feet. This building features a pole frame support system with a concrete foundation, board and batten frame siding (on only three sides of the shed), a galvanized iron shed-roof above the shed and breezeway, and a composite shingle side-gabled roof above the bunkhouse. The primary mass is the shed and breezeway, which was constructed in 1911, while, according to the preliminary property evaluation, the bunkhouse was “modernized”—meaning it may have been converted from its original construction as part of the machine shed into a single-room guest accommodation. Larimer County Property Assessor records refer to 1970 as the date of construction for the bunkhouse, which both appears accurate from observation of the materials used and aligns with the Garrisons’ ownership period and their Dude Ranching activities.

Tool Shed (AKA: “Farm Implement-Equipment Shed,” 1911): The tool shed is 108 square feet and features a granite stone and built-up earthen foundation, pine board and batten siding, and a composition sheet-rolled roof. There is a small stovepipe protruding from the central mass of the roof. The roof has a front gable over a barn-style wooden door on the primary (northeast) façade with a sign overhead (Figure 15) that reads “Patricia’s Den.” Patricia refers to the daughter of George and Miriam Garrison, who owned the ranch in the middle of the 20th century. The roof extends northward to overhang a small shed, offering additional storage. The awning appears to have been constructed after the original shed and has the same pine board and batten siding, albeit newer.

Livestock shed (AKA: “Farm Utility Building,” 1911): The three-sided livestock (horse) shed is oriented diagonally towards the southwest. This shed is 698 square feet and has a built-up earthen foundation, board and batten siding, and a galvanized iron roof with overhanging rafter ends on all sides. The structure maintains no fenestration and the primary (southwest) façade opens into the covered shed, which features a livestock feeding area inside. The midpoint of the open façade maintains a pole structural support with a ladder-like series of wooden logs nailed to it. At the southernmost part of the façade, there is a swinging wooden stable-door that could be closed to contain livestock while at the northernmost part of the façade, only the hinges of the stable-door remain intact.

Woodworking shop and Chicken Coop (AKA: “Farm Implement Shop” and “Farm Utility Building,” 1911): The three-sided woodworking shop and chicken coop is 471 square feet and has an earthen and concrete foundation, board and batten siding, and a composite galvanized iron roof. The southern end of the primary (east) façade opens into a machine storage area with earthen foundation that is supported by wooden pole-framing. The northernmost end of the east façade is enclosed atop a concrete foundation and features a row of five medium 2-over-2 light square casement windows with wooden surrounds. While the primary residence’s windows are recent replacements, these windows appear original; they are also covered with chicken wire. The top-right light on the easternmost window is missing. The easternmost end of the primary façade features an entry door that appears as board and batten siding and above the door, there is a wooden sign with “Ray’s Woodworking Shop” carved into it.

Livestock Stables (AKA: “Farm Utility Building,” 1911): The livestock stables are a row-style horse barn featuring four stalls, a shed area, a storage area, and a feed room, totaling 1690 square feet. The horse barn has a concrete stone foundation, dirt floor, pine board and batten frame siding, and a composite galvanized iron shed roof that hangs over all sides. There is new construction along the roof support and rafters, presumably to offer support and replace the original rafters. The stable is equipped with a built-in water system and electricity. Inside the building, there is a passageway along the west wall that allows access from the westernmost side to the easternmost side. The primary façade faces east and exhibits four Dutch doors. The Dutch doors feature independent top and bottom openings, which can be used to allow light and ventilation by opening the top while controlling animal movement by opening or closing the bottom. These doors also have a small flap on the upper half for ventilation. There are six original 2-over-2 light square casement windows above, but set off from, the doors, with wooden surrounds. The northernmost part of the eastern side is an overhang that turns into a cribbed-barn area with space for feeding and grooming horses. This cribbed-barn area is enclosed by an operable wooden gate.

INTEGRITY

Integrity is defined by the National Park Service as “the ability of a property to convey its significance.” The seven aspects or qualities of integrity are: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Properties do not need to maintain all seven aspects of integrity to be eligible for the NRHP, however, eligible properties will typically they maintain at least three or four aspects. These elements help a property convey its historic significance in the present. Although there is some overlap between them, the seven aspects of integrity are routinely analyzed as separate elements; they can be absent or partially or fully intact.

Pamige Ranch remains in its originally sited location that was granted to Jesse Hollemon via the Homestead Act; thus, its location is fully intact. Hollemon’s Homestead design was altered with the addition of one quarter-section of Lillie Anderson’s parcel and the later partitioning of its original parcel; however, the primary cluster of ranch activity remains intact with all but one of its original buildings. The Homestead’s setting remains partially intact because it is still rural in character, however, the 2012 “High Park” fire resulted in burn damage and scarring on the mountainous areas northeast, northwest, and southwest of the property. The ranch partially retains its integrity of materials because all buildings and structures are original construction, but there have been additions and structural repairs completed—albeit, with materials complementary to the original. Although windows on most of the ranch’s buildings exhibit replacement materials, the original openings remain intact. Workmanship is partially intact with the original board-and-batten siding still apparent on all buildings and only minor structural repairs and maintenance being completed due to normal wear and tear. Pamige Ranch’s overall feeling was also partially impacted by the 2012 fire, but enough pine and aspen trees remain within the primary cluster to convey its historic character as northern Colorado forested ranch. The ranch continues to fully convey its historic associations to settlement, architecture, and agriculture through its extant board-and-batten fabric, intact main area of land (albeit on a sub-divided parcel) granted under the Homestead Act, and still-functional machine sheds and livestock stables.

Given that its location and association are fully intact, and its setting, materials, workmanship, and feeling are partially intact, Pamige Ranch displays a remarkably high level of integrity. It is therefore able to convey its historic significance. Furthermore, as America industrialized between 1870 and 1920 and approximately 11 million people migrated to cities, farms and ranches that were recently established were often disrupted, or otherwise parceled out, as the nation underwent a widespread rural-to-urban transition that continued into the mid-twentieth century. Indeed, Pamige Ranch was divided from Hollemon’s original 160-acre Homestead Act claim into multiple smaller parcels. However, this circumstance, which so often resulted in the cessation of agricultural activities on historic American ranches, makes Pamige Ranch’s ongoing agricultural operation, its high level of integrity conveying historic significance, and its representation as an example of other vernacular ranch-style homes associated with Homestead Act claims in the Poudre Canyon and northern Colorado (very few of which have been nominated to the National Register) quite remarkable.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Statement of Significance

Criterion A (Settlement, 1906-1911): The Homestead is also locally significant under Criterion A as a rare example of early twentieth century settlement in the Stove Prairie area of northern Colorado. The period of settlement significance begins in 1906, when the original homesteader, Jesse Hollemon, must have applied for a claim to 160 acres through the General Land Office, and ends in 1911, after Hollemon had completed construction of the primary cluster of buildings and received a patent from the Denver, Colorado Land Office. Both Jesse Hollemon and Lillie Anderson were bequeathed their deeds to adjacent properties under the original Homestead Act of 1862. At an unknown date, Anderson apparently sold an estimated one quarter-section of her parcel to Hollemon, or a subsequent owner, because the present boundary includes land within both of their original Homestead Act claims. Therefore, today’s Pamige Ranch boundary includes Hollemon’s subsequently partitioned (c. late twentieth century) parcel combined with approximately one quarter-section of Anderson’s parcel. Stove Prairie, Colorado, and the surrounding vicinity included several Homestead Act claims during the early twentieth century; however little documentation exists regarding whether any structures or buildings dating from these original claims remain extant. It is also noteworthy, for the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, that the Homestead Acts permitted women to acquire land—and, we see an instance of female ownership by Lillie Anderson in the parcel adjacent to the Hollemon Homestead.

There are very few listed resources in this region. The closest comparable ranch nearby is the 1896 Stove Prairie Ranch, which maintains a similar configuration of vernacular animal agriculture buildings, such as horse stables and barns, alongside restful places like its primary residence “cottage” and gazebo. The Stove Prairie Schoolhouse was originally built on the ranch’s holdings, although the parcels have since been split off. The Stove Prairie Ranch originally ran cattle and sold timber, but most buildings are altered to support the property’s new use as a wedding venue. The property reflects a much different approach to building construction than the Hollemon Homestead, as well, with random ashlar fieldstone siding, a mix of historically unsympathetic standing seam metal and red tile roofs, and overall, a much-altered landscape with paved footpaths, looming lampposts, and new post-and-rail fencing. The Stove Prairie School, which is the only NR-listed resource in the valley, has had major alterations following expansion in the mid-century. Therefore, the Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch has the largest and best-maintained collection of settlement-period buildings and structures in the region.

Criterion C (Architecture, 1910): The Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch is significant at the local level under Criterion C as a representative example of early twentieth century Rustic architecture in the Stove Prairie region of northern Colorado for the period 1910. All the buildings and structures in the primary cluster were constructed using vertical board-and-batten wood siding with materials that were most likely gathered from surrounding timber stands and fashioned by local sawmills. The period of architectural significance is 1910, the construction date for all except one building inside the primary cluster. Hollemon constructed the buildings at his Homestead in a vernacular, or plain and functional, style known as Rustic architecture.

As settlement matured in early twentieth century America, people began to build sawmills to extend the use of timber. With sawmills, one tree could produce many boards and strips of wood more efficiently than hand-hewing logs. These wooden planks and strips became boards and bats. The boards, about an inch thick, would fit together vertically and the bats, or ‘batten,’ would cover any gaps between the boards. The buildings and structures at the Homestead demonstrate this type of construction and maintain characteristic peg joinery and period-accurate nails. These hand-crafted details demonstrate a high level of vernacular workmanship in the ranch’s construction—that is, they were most likely built by the homesteader himself rather than a craftsman or builder. Moreover, the Homestead’s buildings are a rare and representative example of board-and-batten construction in the Stove Prairie vicinity. By way of comparison, the one-room 1896 Stove Prairie School was originally built by local families as a vertical board-and-batten house with a central wood stove and no running water. The schoolhouse’s board-and-batten fabric was lost when it underwent expansion in 1964, which underscores the rarity of such a high degree of material integrity.

Criterion A (Agriculture, 1911-1973): Although the period of significance for Agriculture begins in 1911 and continues through 1973, there are several distinct eras exhibiting a variety of agricultural uses at the Hollemon Homestead. First, between 1911 and 1959, the Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch produced beef, and perhaps dairy, from cattle that were husbanded there. Second, from 1959 to 1989, the Garrison family used their sentimentally titled “Pamige Ranch” (see The Garrison Family for details) to breed prize-winning American Quarter Horses. Third, from 1989 to present, the Ramos family has maintained timber production at Pamige Ranch.

Due to how challenging farming and ranching challenges in the mountain valleys of northern Colorado was historically, the early twentieth century was a time of rapidly evolving agricultural methods—many of which can be seen at the Homestead and Ranch. These advancements include increased specialization (e.g., the Ranch’s likely hybridization with beef and dairy cows); more hospitable housing and agricultural buildings (e.g., the Homestead’s primary and secondary residences); as well as the manufacture and use of agricultural machinery (e.g., seen in Pamige Ranch’s machine sheds). Another improvement in cattle ranching technique was a new livestock feeding practice, prompted by intermittent droughts in the 1890s and their deleterious effects on pastureland, in which cattle ranchers used sugar beets tops and beet pulp—a trend that, given Fort Collins’ sugar beet industry, was almost certainly implemented at the Ranch. This change in livestock feeding, in addition to spaying cows to fatten them more quickly and thereby cull the herd faster, helped ranchers address growing consumer demand for a higher grade of beef by allowing them to genetically engineer cow breeds more readily.

Farms and ranches in the northern foothills often had to employ adaptability to address geographic challenges to agricultural production. For example, Goodhue Farm in adjacent Boulder County (where there are similar climatic conditions and a higher quantity of NRHP-eligible ranches and farms) adapted to changing meat markets by increasing agricultural production via new scientific methods and technology; however, after a succession of family owners in the 1910s and 1920s, the farm succumbed to bank foreclosure. Meanwhile, between the early-to-mid- twentieth century, Dodd Brother Enterprises successfully expanded their cattle ranch to over 800 acres by diversifying their agricultural products to include farming sugar beets, wheat, barley, and corn; they were also among Boulder County’s earliest to adopt water conservation efforts like lining irrigation laterals and leveling crop fields. These homesteads also exhibit changing functions over time that are reflective of changes in agriculture practice, just as the Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch was adapted for a variety of purposes over the years. As a final point of comparison to early twentieth century ranches in Boulder County, implement and machine sheds were necessary there as storage facilities to preserve the value of machinery by protecting such equipment from weather exposure—a trend seen in the Ranch’s storage sheds.

Today’s Pamige Ranch continues to exhibit ties to its agricultural past while adapting to present circumstances. Although the Ranch’s ownership changed hands throughout the twentieth century, it was operated continuously, for about 48 years, as a cattle ranch from 1911 until 1959. We also speculate that the Smiths may have hybridized their operation to include dairy production between 1946 and 1959 (see Early Agriculture on the Ranch for additional context). Considering this long stretch of cow-related production and the Ranch’s subsequent adaptation from cattle ranching (and perhaps dairy farming) to American Quarter-Horse breeding, as well as the prizes the horses won in competition, the Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch is significant under Criterion A at the local level for these associations with animal agriculture.

The combination of Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch’s several historical associations, including with the Homestead Act of 1862, characteristic early twentieth century Rustic architecture, beef cattle and, perhaps, dairy cow agriculture, as well as American Quarter-Horse breeding and competition and its remarkable integrity, leads to the recommendation that the property currently known as Pamige Ranch is eligible for listing on the NRHP, at the local level, as a rural historic landscape. The fact that the Homestead and Ranch has maintained its primary cluster of ranch buildings, including livestock stables, as well as its agricultural zoning throughout numerous twentieth and twenty-first century social, cultural, and economic changes make it a remarkable place that continues to convey its association with the Homestead Act, Rustic architecture, and animal agriculture. Even though the original 160 acres were parceled out in the late twentieth century, thereby reducing the ranch to the 67 acres it is today, sections of both Hollemon’s and Anderson’s Homestead Act claims are included in the current ranch boundary. There is also potential that some of the lost parcels may be rejoined to bring the ranch closer to its original 160-acre configuration.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Developmental history

Homesteading in Stove Prairie

Today’s Pamige Ranch is situated in the Stove Prairie area, about 20 miles northwest of Fort Collins, Colorado, in Larimer County. Stove Prairie is named for a United States government-issued stove that was allegedly left behind in the area by the camp of General John C. Fremont, who, along with his troops, attempted to find a low-elevation pass through the Rocky Mountains in the 1840s. Stove Prairie was originally a popular hiking area in the 1890s; then, Euro-American settlers began establishing farms and ranches in the area in the early twentieth century. Many of these farms and ranches were established with claims through the Homestead Act of 1862.

By the mid-nineteenth century, the U.S. government had become overwhelmed at the lands it held in the public domain and sought a way to dispose of substantial portions of its holdings, as well as to conquer the American West (frequently conceptualized as a rapidly closing frontier) and fulfill its cruel dream of manifest destiny by displacing and removing indigenous populations. Therefore, the Homestead Act was passed in 1862 (along with additional legislation such as the Southern Homestead Act of 1866, the Timber Culture Act of 1873, and the Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909, and the Stock Raising Homestead Act of 1916, among others) to provide a mechanism by which Euro-American settlers could file an application with the U.S. government to claim a parcel of land, up to 160 acres, if they intended to improve and reside on the land for a period of 5 years, also known as “proving up.” Homestead Act claims typically involved a three-step process in which a claimant would file an application seeking to improve a parcel of land in exchange for a land patent or deed; the claimant would then proceed to make improvements over several years (often legislated at five); and, finally, the deed was conveyed to the owner once they gave sufficient proof of improvements to the government.

As Euro-American settlers homesteaded the Stove Prairie area, establishing a lasting presence on the landscape during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they decided to pool resources together and build the Stove Prairie School House. The Stove Prairie School House was built in 1896 by Emmanuel Vannorsdel and Harlen Bosworth and operated as both a school and a community center. Despite subsequent expansions that destroyed some historic fabric, it is still in operation as one of Colorado’s oldest historic schoolhouses. The schoolhouse was not only built, but also maintained by local families, such as those of nearby ranchers and lumberjacks like Harlan Bosworth and Emmanuel Vannorsdel—who fetched water, chopped wood, completed repairs, and painted the building annually.

Like the classic one-room rural schoolhouse that these families built and maintained together, the Hollemon-Smith Homestead and Ranch is evidence of its owners’ intent to settle permanently in this rugged northern Colorado region. Today, Pamige Ranch covers parts of two Homestead Act claims, which were integral to Euro-American settlement of the American West. The buildings at the Ranch lay on land originally granted to Jesse Hollemon, whose deed is dated in 1911, corresponding to the construction of the ranch’s primary cluster. The adjacent land was subsequently granted to Lillie Anderson. Lillie Anderson received a conveyance of deed for the ranch land in November 1915, but it was not filed until June 1918; the paper copy of the deed was printed and bound by the Larimer County Abstract Company. Although there is no historical trace of Hollemon’s sale of the property to the Smiths in 1946, it is assumed that he resided on the Homestead until this time; likewise, we have no record, aside from analysis of the present Pamige Ranch parcel, of Anderson’s evident sale of part of her land to Hollemon or a subsequent owner, nor of her life experience, aside from her Homestead Act deed. Although much of Lillie Anderson’s life has been lost to the record, there are other examples of female homesteading on Colorado’s Front Range. One is the case of Katherine G. Garetson, who homesteaded in the area near Allenspark Colorado, named “Big Owl,” circa 1917; in her story, Garetson remarks that she dreamed of owning land in Colorado “for cheap.” The Homesteading Acts made this possible for many Euro- American settlers in the early twentieth century. Indeed, Stove Prairie, Colorado and the surrounding vicinity included several Homestead Act claims during the early twentieth century; however little documentation exists on whether any structures or buildings dating from these original claims still exist.

Early Agriculture on the Ranch

The next owners of what would later come to be known as Pamige Ranch were the Smith family: dairy-owner Ernest Smith purchased the ranch, presumably from Hollemon, in 1946. Ernest Smith operated the OT Dairy in Fort Collins, about 20 miles east of the ranch. The Smiths had two sons, both of whom attended the Stove Prairie Elementary Schoolhouse prior to Cache La Poudre High School. Ernest’s son, Cletys, along with Cletys’ wife, Bessie (née Bell), gained agricultural experience working for OT Dairy before they purchased the ranch in 1946 and ran it for about a dozen years.

Bessie also taught at the nearby Stove Prairie School House until 1959, when the family moved to the Forks area between Fort Collins and Wyoming. Although primary sources indicate the Smiths bought Pamige Ranch as a cattle operation, it should be noted that Colorado’s wide-open expanse of rangelands, and particularly the high-altitude meadows of Stove Prairie would have been conducive to dairy-cow grazing because such grasses improved the fat content in milk. Given this environmental advantage and the Smith’s prior experience with dairy cows, they may have adapted Pamige Ranch for a hybrid of beef and dairy production.

Colorado’s connection with beef cattle production comes primarily from Texas cowboys who ventured north in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, drawn by abundant grasses in the western part of the state. This linkage is evident on the landscape of the Smith Ranch, where evidence of a former cattle corral north of the main residence is visible on satellite imagery. Within the context of northern Colorado’s rugged terrain, ranching often proved more viable, economically, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries than did farming. The livestock stables that Hollemon built would have served very well to house beef cattle or dairy cows during cool seasons while the Ranch’s forested and grassy acreage would have allowed them to graze in warmer seasons. Furthermore, the livestock shed would have allowed ranch owners to move individual cows into a separate location from the herd, as needed, such as for medical purposes and milking cows to produce dairy.

The Garrison Family

George and Miriam Garrison purchased the ranch from the Smiths in 1959. It began as a weekend home for the couple and their daughter, Pat. The family named the property “Pamige Ranch” on June 4, 1960; “Pamige” derives from the first two letters of Pat, Miriam, and George’s names. George was an ophthalmologist, requiring the family to live primarily in Fort Collins near his office, but he and his wife joined their daughter Pat on weekends at the ranch to breed, train, and sell Quarter Horses for farm work and showmanship.

Quarter Horse breeding in the United States began around 1620 with the arrival of English horses in the Virginia colony and spread to the American West after the Civil War as white settlers migrated across the Great Plains. Quarter Horses were ideal for western ranching due to their placid demeanor, quick speed, long endurance, and sturdy build. They are the most widely used horses for ranch work and, despite not being formally defined as a breed until 1941, are the oldest distinct breed of American horses.

Pat Garrison helped originate the northern Colorado Quarter Horse Breeders Association in 1963. The horses she and her partner, Jackie Dolliver, raised won multiple awards; in 1974, one of her mares won Grand Champion in Performance in the Rocky Mountain region. Pat Garrison primarily did performance work with her Quarter Horses. This encompassed “Western Riding,” including reigning the horse and complex stepping patterns. Pat won several awards for her performance riding. She also worked as a 4-H judge around the state, part of a long tradition of agricultural competition in the West and in the United States at large. She worked mostly at the county level, judging various 4-H clubs around the area. Most of the shows that Pat judged involved local children showing their horses. During this time, she stopped performance riding due to the conflict of interest of being a judge and a contender. The 4-H connections reveal the importance that livestock and agriculture maintained in the Garrison family. Pat and Jackie purchased Pamige Ranch from George and Miriam in 1976 and continued to breed Quarter Horses late into their lives.

Just as Stove Prairie School became a civic and community gathering place in addition to its primary purpose as education-center for rural northern Colorado families, so did Pamige Ranch become a restful place to visit for weary travelers and tourists in addition to its original purpose as a cattle ranch. Some of the main attractions for Dude Ranch visitors were opportunities to ride horses and view nature (see dude ranching context section below), and given that Pamige Ranch was used to breed Quarter Horses and bordered the Cache la Poudre Wilderness, it was an ideal place for such activities.

Shortly after purchasing Pamige Ranch, the Garrisons began renting out the additional residence across from the main house. Visitors from Fort Collins, Denver, and other Colorado cities overnighted at the bunkhouse or rented the space for professional and personal events, making the site a kind of dude ranch. The tradition of Dude Ranching became popular in the early twentieth century with the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the closing of the frontier. Adrienne Rose Johnson defines a dude ranch as “any western ranch that charged guests for room and board.” Dude Ranching in the Rocky Mountains peaked between 1880 and 1930 and in its heyday visitors from the east and from Europe visited Western ranches to escape urban stressors and enjoy activities like horseback riding, hunting, and nature viewing.

Following the end of World War II, Americans began flocking to public lands in the West; dude ranches saw a small resurgence with the explosion of mountain tourism in Colorado. Alongside railroads and national parks, dude ranching was one of the primary attractions of the West and helped turn the Rocky Mountains into a tourist destination. The popularization of Dude Ranches during the early- and mid-twentieth century tied into a crisis of masculinity and appeal to traditional values. In the wake of women’s suffrage, urbanization, and increased immigration, escaping to the frontier permitted white men to fantasize about self-sufficiency, rugged masculinity, and traditional family values. In response, female tourists experimented with ideas of physical and sexual liberation, exchanging dresses and housekeeping for denim and hay shoveling.

While the Garrisons might not have referred to Pamige Ranch as a Dude Ranch, its functionality as a personal residence, operational ranch, and bunkhouse for visitors made it a dude ranch in all but the name. Visitors’ experiences reflected the duties of ranchers. Horseback riding was one of the most appealing activities to visitors; indeed, many visitors to Pamige Ranch who signed the guestbook lauded the calm, enjoyable experience of riding and caring for Pat Garrison’s Quarter Horses.

Modern Pamige Ranch

In 1989, Rafael “Ray” Ramos bought 40 acres of the original 160-acre ranch from Patricia Garrison. In 1993, he purchased the primary cluster of land and buildings contained within a 67-acre tract, followed by another 40 acres in 2014 with the help of his daughter, Patricia Ramos. Mr. Ramos was active in the Tree Farm Association and Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire and Rescue during his ownership of Pamige Ranch between 1989-2015, and he frequently hosted Fort Collins-based middle and high school groups on the ranch to discuss its history and educate students about the importance of timber farms and sustainable forestry practices. In 2015, Ray sold 67 acres of the Pamige Ranch, including the primary cluster of Rustic buildings, to his daughter, Patricia, who currently operates the ranch as a timber farm. Although these timber farming activities are too recent to be considered as another element of historic significance, it is noteworthy that Pamige Ranch’s association with productive agriculture is ongoing. Patricia plans to continue agricultural endeavors on the property with her children and partner, and maintain the open space and historic structures.

9. Major Bibliographical References Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form.)

Ahlbrandt, Arlene (Briggs), Andrew J. Morris, and Kathryn Stieben, editors. Larimer County, Colorado History: 1860s-1987 Volume II. Dallas: Curtis Media Corporation, 1987.

Borne, Lawrence R. “Dude Ranching in the Rockies.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History 38, no. 3 (1988), 14-27.

Brady, Hillary. “The Homestead Acts.” Digital Public Library of America. No Date, Accessed February 10, 2023: https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-homestead-acts.

Campbell, Alyse. “Beef Industry on the Colorado Plains.” Colorado Encyclopedia. September 3, 2022, Accessed September 30, 2022: https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/beef-industry-colorado-plains.

Christman, Abigail. “Hargreaves Homestead Rural Historic Landscape.” Colorado State Register of Historic Places Nomination (5PL.24). Colorado Historical Society. Colorado State Register: 2013.

Christman, Abigail. “Evergreen Corner Rural Historic Landscape.” Colorado State Register of Historic Places Nomination (5PL.217). Colorado Historical Society. Colorado State Register: 2013.

Creager, Louise. “Stove Prairie School.” Colorado State Register of Historic Places Nomination (5LR.848). Colorado Historical Society. Colorado State Register: 1998.

Denhardt, Bob, editor. The Quarter Horse: A Varied Assortment of Historical Articles, Equine Biographies and Characteristics, Sketches of Horsemen and Other Lore, All Pertaining to the Quarter Horse. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1982.

Dunn, Meg. “The Flowers of Bellvue.” Northern Colorado History weblog, April 7, 2015. Accessed November 6, 2022: https://www.northerncoloradohistory.com/flowers-bellvue/.

Fort Collins History Connection. “The Sugar Beet Industry,” section in “Fort Collins History and Architecture: Sugar Beets, Streetcar Suburbs, and the City Beautiful, 1900-1919.” N.d., Accessed December 12, 2022: https://history.fcgov.com/contexts/sugar.

“Fun in Colorado with American Quarter Horses!” Northern Colorado Quarter Horse Association. Accessed April 12, 2022. https://ncqha.org.

Garrison, Miriam. “Oral Interview.” By Charlene Tresner. Transcript. August 29, 1975. Fort Collins Public Library Oral History Project, Cabinet 8, Drawer 1.

General Land Office. “Land patent, number 500992, grant to Lillie Anderson.” November 27, 1915. Document number 015798. Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records. Online database, Accessed September 1, 2022: https://glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx.

General Land Office. “Land patent, number 193082, grant to Jesse Hollemon.” April 11, 1911. Document number 05117. Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records. Online database, Accessed November 18, 2022: https://glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx.

“High Park Fire 100 Percent Contained.” CBS Denver (Denver, CO), June 30, 2012.

Hill, David, “Historical Corner: Stories Recall Stove Prairie Camping Trip.” Coloradan (Fort Collins, CO), date unknown.

Johnson, Adrienne Rose. “Romancing the Dude Ranch, 1926-1947.” Western Historical Quarterly 43, no. 4 (2012), 437-461.

Recchiuti, John Louis. “America Moves to the City.” Khan Academy (U.S. History, Unit 6, Lesson 1: The Gilded Age). No Date. Accessed December 12, 2022: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/the-gilded-age/gilded-age/a/america-moves-to-the-city.

Larimer County Abstract Company, “Abstract of Title to E ½ SW ¼: SW ¼ SE ¼ 17, NW ¼ NE ¼: W ¼ NW ¼: AND NW ¼ SW ¼: NE ¼ NW ¼ 20, TNP 8N, Range 71W,” private collection, accessed February 19, 2022.

Milliken, Ross B. “A Valuation Report of The Improvements Located on the Pamige Ranch.” Real estate appraisal prepared for Ms. Pat Garrison, May 13, 1986. Private Collection. Accessed February 19, 2022.

National Archives and Records Administration. “The Homestead Act of 1862.” Educator Resources, National Archives. No date, Accessed May 5, 2022: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/homestead-act.

National Park Service. “How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation.” National Register Bulletin 15, revised 1995: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/NRB-15_web508.pdf.

“Pamige Ranch Guestbook.” Private Collection. Accessed February 19, 2022.

Philpott, William. Vacationland: Tourism and Environment in the Colorado High Country. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013.

Ramos, Patricia. “Preliminary Property Evaluation Form, Pamige Ranch.” OAHP 1419f. Pamige Ranch, Bellvue, CO, January 13, 2022.

Stove Prairie Ranch. “History,” No date: https://stoveprairieranch.com/ranch-history.

Thomas, Adam. “District 18 (Stove Prairie),” In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1. Historical Context by Historitecture, LLC for City of Fort Collins’ Advance Planning Department (August 2004), Accessed November 17, 2022: https://www.fcgov.com/historicpreservation/pdf/psd-context.pdf?1582655633.

Wolfenbarger, Deon. “Agricultural Resources of Boulder County,” National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form. Nederland, Colorado: Three Gables Preservation, May 20, 2008.

Zimmer, Amy. “Time Machine Tuesday: The Cattle Industry in Colorado.” August 18, 2020. Colorado Virtual Library. Accessed September 20, 2022: https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/resource-sharing/state-pubs-blog/time-machine-tuesday-the-cattle-industry-in-colorado/.

Recommendation for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places was prepared by Shaun Rose, Emily Ortiz, and Taylor LaPoint for Patricia Ramos, Christy Perez, Finn Ramos, and Ellie Ramos.

Colorado State University date November 18, 2022

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Larimer County, Colorado

References

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Larimer County, Colorado

Category:Ranches in Colorado