The list of local properties with historic designation has grown this month after the Routt County Board of Commissioners agreed to designate three additional sites to the Routt County Register of Historic Properties.

The Campbell/Zimmerman House, the Cow Creek Ranch and the Deerfoot A-Frame were added to the county’s list of more than 105 properties with historic designation. There are 23 properties in West Routt, including 10 in Hayden; 20 in South Routt, including three in Oak Creek and five in Yampa; 14 in North Routt; and 43 in the Steamboat Springs area.

Two of the three most recent additions (Cow Creek Ranch and the Deerfoot A-Frame) are located just outside of Steamboat Springs, and the Campbell /Zimmerman property is in downtown Steamboat on Oak Street.

---

---

“Our landscapes are changing, and our built environment is part of our landscape. It is how people lived, it is why people lived here and it is why people visited here,” said Caitlin Berube-Smith, a member of the Routt County Historic Preservation Board and the city’s Historic Preservation Planner. “I think that is really showcased throughout these three different properties.”

Many Steamboat residents will recognize the Campbell/Zimmerman House, built at the corner of Fifth and Oak in 1900 by Ernest Campbell, as the longtime home of the Tread of Pioneers Museum. Campbell, a noted builder, sold the house to the Zimmermans.

---

---

Routt County purchased the property in 1958 and allowed the newly formed Tread of Pioneers Museum to use it in 1959. In 1988, the museum moved the structure from its original location to Eighth and Oak streets, where it remains today and serves as the heart of the Tread of Pioneers Museum with period-furnished rooms and exhibits.

“It is one of our rare examples of two-story, Queen Anne Victorian structure … we do not have many of those in Steamboat Springs or in Routt County. Most of the materials were sourced locally because it was built prior to the railroad coming to Steamboat Springs in 1909,” Berube-Smith said.

“We come from modest agricultural and ranching backgrounds, so many of our historic structures aren’t your typical elegant Victorian-style homes or craftsman-style homes, so it was unique that they utilized those architectural details in the home.”

The commission also approved the Cow Creek Ranch for its character, interest and value as part of the development, heritage and cultural characteristics related to Routt County.

The lure of free land promoted by the Homestead Act of 1862 attracted many settlers to the West, including Harry Dorr, who homesteaded a remote 160-parcel of land in Routt County. The historic house, barn and granary on the property were added in 1918 and the property was also owned by Robert McKune, who purchased it in 1957 and ran a successful agricultural operation for 13 years.

In the 1970s, he sold the ranch to Denver investors who subdivided the property. The 37-acre portion that was awarded historic preservation this month includes historic buildings dating back to 1918.

“Cow Creek is a pretty interesting designation,” Berube-Smith said. “I think one of the more fun facts is that the actual creek got its name from a settler who found a lost cow with a new baby cow somewhere along the creek, and then named it Cow Creek. Somehow that name has trickled down, and so the current owners named the ranch Cow Creek after acquiring it in 1983.”

Berube-Smith said the owner, Cindy Zeller, is a proud steward of its ranching history, protecting the original modest ranch house, barn and granary, which are still standing and surrounded by the fences and corrals of a working ranch.

The large agricultural operations are gone, but visually, the rural property maintains most of the seven aspects of Integrity: materials, workmanship, feeling, association, location, design and setting.

“What really makes (Cow Creek Ranch) interesting is it represents Routt County in transition,” said Arianthé Stettner, board member emeritus, Historic Routt County.

The final property added to the historic register was built by contractor Lloyd Pierce in 1959 for Eleanor Bliss, a local arts advocate, after he finished work on her home. The Deerfoot A-Frame represents architecture from the mid-century modern years (1950-1970) when Routt County saw rapid growth and development due to post-war prosperity, more leisure time for recreation and development of Steamboat Resort.

The early A-frame vacation homes represented the economic, architectural and cultural changes that followed the trying times of World War II. With the economic rise of the middle-class, A-frames offered simple structures, easily built, that were more affordable than homes with standard architecture. Prior to World War II, vacation homes, especially in the mountains, were reserved for the wealthy.

“I think of it in terms of the post-automobile era as well — you know planes, trains and automobiles,” Berube-Smith said. “At the time people were utilizing those, the economy had risen, and people wanted to travel. There’s the big boom in travel, which, of course, means that we see a boom in ski and resort industries and areas across Colorado. The A-frame became a very inexpensive way for people to own a vacation home.”

The home changed hands several times before being purchased by the current owners in 2001. Berube-Smith said this type of architecture can be found across Colorado, but it’s rare in Steamboat Springs and Routt County.

“It’s really the owners of these properties that step up as stewards of our history and culture,” Berube-Smith said.  “I think it’s important to note that ownership and having that sense of stewardship and wanting to preserve something as time goes on is very important.”

Historic Routt County is dedicated to preserving and celebrating Routt County’s history. The organization works closely with property owners local government and the community to ensure the longevity of historic sites.  

“These designations not only honor our past but also safeguard these unique resources for future generations,” said Kristen Rockford, executive director of Historic Routt County. “We are especially grateful to the property owners for their dedication to preservation of their properties, and to Arianthé Stettner for her work in helping to make these nominations a reality.”