Spruce Tree House
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Spruce Tree House
Spruce Tree House is the third largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park. Located near park headquarters, it received heavy visitation before rock falls forced its closure in 2015.
Spruce Tree House is the third-largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park, and the first seen by most visitors because of its location near park headquarters. Built by the Ancestral Pueblo in the 1200s, Euro-Americans came to know the 114-room dwelling through rancher Richard Wetherill and Charles Mason in December 1888. Along with the rest of Mesa Verde, Spruce Tree House was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site in 1978.
Construction and Use
Spruce Tree House is on the northeast wall of Spruce Tree Canyon, just across from the Mesa Verde Administrative District on Chapin Mesa. Like the other cliff dwellings in the area, Spruce Tree House was built during the Pueblo III period (1150–1300 CE) of the Ancestral Pueblo tradition, when Mesa Verde residents began to move from mesa tops to cliff alcoves, perhaps for greater protection. It probably housed about 100 people at any given time.
Spruce Tree House was built in pieces between about 1200 and 1280, with each family constructing its own kiva and room suite, and grew to include 114 rooms and eight kivas. Kivas—circular areas excavated into the ground—were the central residential structures at sites such as Spruce Tree House. They could be used for residences and ritual gatherings, and they could also be covered with a flat roof to make a small plaza. Suites of small rooms arranged around each kiva made up a courtyard complex shared by an extended family or clan. Front rooms were used for sleeping, back rooms for storage. As with nearby Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree House was separated into two sections, suggesting a social organization based on two distinct groups. An imposing three-story central tower at the dwelling may have served to unify the two groups.
Like the rest of the Mesa Verde region, Spruce Tree House was evacuated in the final decades of the 1200s, when the Ancestral Pueblo migrated to the south and southwest. Although the exact reasons for the migration remain unknown, there is evidence that colder and drier weather, combined with increased conflict in the region, made it harder for residents to survive.
"Rediscovery"
Local Indigenous people knew about sites like Spruce Tree House for generations before rancher Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law, Charles Mason, found such sites in December 1888. The men were searching for cattle with their Ute guide, Acowitz, when they first saw Cliff Palace. They discovered Spruce Tree House either later that day or the next day, naming it for what they believed to be a spruce tree growing in the ruins (it was a Douglas fir). Wetherill spent most of the winter digging for artifacts in Cliff Palace and Spruce Tree House; he later sold his collection to the Colorado Historical Society (now History Colorado).
In 1891 Wetherill, his brothers, and Mason showed Mesa Verde to the visiting Swedish scholar Gustaf Nordenskiöld, who spent the summer excavating nearly two dozen cliff dwellings in the area, including Spruce Tree House. His book The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde (1893) played a crucial role in stimulating interest in the area’s archaeology. The artifacts he plundered during his excavations were long housed at the National Museum of Finland, but in 2019 the Finnish government agreed to return many of them—including some human remains and funerary objects—to native tribes in the region.
The decay of the cliff dwellings accelerated rapidly after their rediscovery, as they started to receive increased visitation from pothunters, amateur archaeologists, and tourists. In response, a movement developed in the 1890s and early 1900s to make Mesa Verde a national park and to pass the Antiquities Act (1906) to prevent looting and vandalism at prehistoric sites on public land.
Early Archaeological Work
In 1906 the Mesa Verde area, including Spruce Tree House, became a national park. Most of the structures in the park were still filled with debris and in danger of collapsing, so the Department of the Interior asked Jesse Walter Fewkes of the Bureau of American Ethnology to perform excavation, preservation, and repair work at the park. From 1908 to 1922, Fewkes excavated and stabilized a number of cliff dwellings.
In 1908 Fewkes started his work at Spruce Tree House because of its easy accessibility, proximity to where visitors camped, and better state of preservation compared to most other ruins in the park. To prepare the dwelling for visitors, Fewkes and his team cleared debris from the interior, repaired and stabilized the structure’s walls, improved drainage away from the site, and constructed trails for visitor access. Despite heavy looting over the previous two decades, they also found more than 500 artifacts.
Rock Stabilization
Since Fewkes’s time, most work at the park has focused on preservation. Other than a trash mound excavation funded by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and carried out by park superintendent Jesse Nusbaum in 1923–24, nearly all work at Spruce Tree House has been part of an ongoing effort to stabilize the rock alcove in which the dwelling was built.
The same forces that formed Spruce Tree Cave continue to act, leading to large rockfalls as the arch above Spruce Tree House grows. In 1923 a fifty-foot slab fell from the roof of Spruce Tree Cave, but luckily it did little damage to the dwelling. In 1940 workers removed plants and rock debris from the main crack in the ledge above Spruce Tree House and applied a protective covering to try to keep water from widening it. A rockfall in 1960 led to the removal of the earlier protective covering, the application of cement grout in the crack, and the installation of a copper lip to divert drainage away from the ledge. Those precautions could not prevent three major rockfalls in the summer of 1964. The park closed the north end of the dwelling and kept visitors thirty feet away for safety until stabilization work was completed.
Stability at Spruce Tree House became a major concern again in 2015, when a rockfall led the dwelling to be closed to the public. A climbing team investigated the ledge above the dwelling and removed sixty cubic feet of rock. During their work, the team saw evidence that more rockfalls were likely to occur, so the park decided to keep Spruce Tree House closed until a full assessment and stabilization can be completed. The park plans to use Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to map the crack and prepare a stabilization plan. In the meantime, visitors can still view the dwelling from overlooks near park headquarters.
10th Grade
Spruce Tree House is a cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park. It was built by Ancestral Puebloans in the 1200s. The 114-room dwelling was rediscovered by rancher Richard Wetherill and Charles Mason in December 1888. Along with the rest of Mesa Verde, Spruce Tree House was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site in 1978.
Construction and Use
Spruce Tree House is on the northeast wall of Spruce Tree Canyon, just across from the Mesa Verde Administrative District on Chapin Mesa. Like the other cliff dwellings in the area, it was built during the Pueblo III period (1150–1300 CE). Mesa Verde residents had lived on the flat mesa tops, but moved to cliff alcoves during this period, perhaps for greater protection. The site probably housed about 100 people at any given time.
Spruce Tree House
Spruce Tree House was built between about 1200 and 1280. Each family constructed its own kiva and room suite and the site grew to include 114 rooms and eight kivas. Kivas are circular areas that are excavated into the ground. These were the central residential structures and were used for homes and ritual gatherings. They could be covered with a flat roof to make a small plaza. Suites of small rooms arranged around each kiva made up a courtyard that was shared by an extended family or clan. Front rooms were used for sleeping, while the back rooms were used for storage. As with nearby Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree House was separated into two sections, suggesting a social organization based on two distinct groups. An imposing three-story central tower may have served to unify the two groups.
Like the rest of the Mesa Verde region, Spruce Tree House was abandoned in the final decades of the 1200s when the Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the south and southwest. Although the exact reasons for the migration remain unknown, there is evidence that colder and drier weather, combined with increased conflict in the region, made it harder for residents to survive.
Rediscovery
On December 18, 1888, rancher Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law Charles Mason rediscovered Mesa Verde. The men were searching for cattle with their Ute guide, Acowitz, when they first saw Cliff Palace. They discovered Spruce Tree House the next day, naming it for what they believed to be a spruce tree growing in the ruins (the tree was actually a Douglas fir). Wetherill spent the winter digging for artifacts in Cliff Palace and Spruce Tree House. He later sold his collection to the Colorado Historical Society (now History Colorado).
In 1891 Wetherill and Mason showed the site to a visiting Swedish scholar named Gustaf Nordenskiöld. He spent the summer excavating nearly two dozen cliff dwellings, including Spruce Tree House. His book The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde (1893) stimulated interest in the area’s archaeology. The many artifacts he removed during his excavations are now housed at the National Museum of Finland.
The cliff dwellings deteriorated rapidly after their rediscovery. The area started to receive increased visitation from pothunters, amateur archaeologists, and tourists. In response, a movement developed in the 1890s and early 1900s to make Mesa Verde a National Park and to pass the Antiquities Act (1906) to prevent looting and vandalism at prehistoric sites on public land.
Early Archaeological Work
In 1906 the Mesa Verde area, including Spruce Tree House, became a National Park. Most of the structures in the park were filled with debris and in danger of collapsing. The Department of the Interior hired Jesse Walter Fewkes of the Bureau of American Ethnology to perform excavation, preservation, and repair work at the park. From 1908 to 1922, Fewkes excavated and stabilized a number of cliff dwellings.
In 1908 Fewkes started his work at Spruce Tree House. It was chosen because of its easy access, location near the campsite, and because it was better preserved than most other ruins in the park. To prepare the dwelling for visitors, Fewkes and his team cleared debris from the interior areas and repaired and stabilized the structure’s walls. They improved drainage away from the site and constructed trails for visitor access. Despite heavy looting over the previous two decades, they also found more than 500 artifacts.
Erosion Control
Since Fewkes’s time, most work at the park has focused on preservation. A trash mound excavation was funded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Most other work at Spruce Tree House has been an ongoing effort to stabilize the rock alcove in which the dwelling was built.
The same forces of erosion that formed Spruce Tree Cave have caused damage to the site. Large rockfalls from the arch above Spruce Tree House are the cause. In 1923 a fifty-foot slab fell from the roof of Spruce Tree Cave, but luckily it did little damage to the dwelling. In 1940 workers removed plants and rock debris from a large crack in the ledge above Spruce Tree House. Then a protective covering was applied to keep water from widening it. A rockfall in 1960 led to the removal of the earlier protective covering. Cement grout was put in the crack and a copper lip was installed to divert drainage away from the ledge. Those efforts did not prevent three major rockfalls in the summer of 1964. The park closed the north end of Spruce House and kept visitors thirty feet away for safety until stabilization work was completed.
Today
Stabilization at Spruce Tree House became a major concern again in 2015, when another rockfall occurred. The dwelling was closed to the public. A climbing team investigated the ledge above the dwelling and removed sixty cubic feet of rock. During their work, the team saw evidence that more rockfalls were likely to occur, so Spruce Tree House has been closed until a full assessment and stabilization can be completed. The park plans to use Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to map the crack in the rock and prepare a stabilization plan. In the meantime, visitors can still view the dwelling from overlooks near park headquarters.
8th Grade
Spruce Tree House is a cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park. It was built by Ancestral Puebloans in the 1200s. The 114-room dwelling was rediscovered by rancher Richard Wetherill and Charles Mason in December 1888. Along with the rest of Mesa Verde, Spruce Tree House was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site in 1978.
Construction and Use
Spruce Tree House is built into the northeast wall of Spruce Tree Canyon. It is located across from the Mesa Verde Administrative District on Chapin Mesa. Like the other cliff dwellings in the area, it was built during the Pueblo III period from 1150–1300 CE. During this time, Mesa Verde residents moved from flat, open mesa tops to cliff alcoves, perhaps for greater protection. The site housed about 100 people.
Spruce Tree House Interior
Spruce Tree House was built between about 1200 and 1280. Each family constructed their own kiva and suites of rooms. Spruce Tree House grew to include 114 rooms and eight kivas. Kivas are circular areas that are excavated into the ground. The kivas were the central residential living spaces. They were used for homes and rituals, and they could be covered with a flat roof to make a small plaza. Suites of small rooms were arranged around each kiva. These made up a courtyard that was shared by an extended family or clan. Front rooms were used for sleeping, while the back rooms were used for storage. As with nearby Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree House was separated into two sections, suggesting a social organization based on two distinct groups. An imposing three-story central tower may have served to unify the two groups.
Like the rest of the Mesa Verde region, Spruce Tree House was abandoned in the final decades of the 1200s. The Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the south and southwest, although the exact reasons for the move remain unknown. Colder and drier weather, combined with increased conflict in the region, might have made it harder for residents to survive.
Rediscovery
On December 18, 1888, local rancher Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law Charles Mason rediscovered Mesa Verde. The men were searching for cattle with their Ute guide, Acowitz, when they saw Cliff Palace. They discovered Spruce Tree House the next day, naming it for what they believed to be a spruce tree growing in the ruins (the tree was actually a Douglas fir). Wetherill spent the winter digging for artifacts in Cliff Palace and Spruce Tree House. He later sold his collection to the Colorado Historical Society (now History Colorado).
In 1891 Wetherill and Mason showed the site to visiting Swedish scholar Gustaf Nordenskiöld. He spent the summer excavating nearly two dozen cliff dwellings, including Spruce Tree House. His book The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde (1893) stimulated interest in the area’s archaeology. The many artifacts he removed during his excavations are now housed at the National Museum of Finland.
The cliff dwellings deteriorated rapidly after their rediscovery. Visits from pothunters, amateur archaeologists, and tourists took their toll on the structures. In response, a movement developed in the 1890s and early 1900s to make Mesa Verde a National Park. The Antiquities Act (1906) was passed to prevent looting and vandalism at prehistoric sites on public land.
Early Archaeological Work
In 1906 the Mesa Verde area became a National Park. Most of the structures in the park were filled with debris and in danger of collapsing. The Department of the Interior hired Jesse Walter Fewkes of the Bureau of American Ethnology. His task was to excavate, preserve, and do repair work at the park. From 1908 to 1922, Fewkes excavated and stabilized the cliff dwellings.
In 1908 Fewkes started his work at Spruce Tree House. The site had easy access, the location was near the campsite, and it was in a better state of preservation compared to most other ruins in the park. To prepare the dwelling for visitors, Fewkes and his team cleared debris from the interior and repaired and stabilized the structure’s walls. They also improved drainage away from the site and constructed trails for visitors. Despite heavy looting over the previous two decades, they managed to find more than 500 artifacts.
Preservation Work
Since Fewkes’s time, most work at Spruce Tree House has focused on preservation. Efforts have been made to stabilize the rock alcove in which the dwelling was built. At one point, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. funded a trash mound excavation.
The same forces of erosion that formed Spruce Tree Cave have caused damage to the site. Large rockfalls have damaged the arch above Spruce Tree House. In 1923 a fifty-foot slab fell from the roof of Spruce Tree Cave. Luckily, it did little damage to the dwelling. In 1940 workers removed plants and rocks from a large crack in the ledge above Spruce Tree House. Then they applied a protective covering to try to keep water from widening it. A rockfall in 1960 led to the removal of the earlier protective covering. Cement grout was put in the crack and a copper lip was installed to divert drainage away from the ledge. Those precautions still did not prevent three major rockfalls in the summer of 1964. The park was forced to close the north end of the dwelling. Visitors were kept thirty feet away for safety until stabilization work was completed.
Today
Stabilization at Spruce Tree House became a major concern again in 2015, when another rockfall occurred. The dwelling was closed to the public. A climbing team investigated the ledge above the dwelling and removed sixty cubic feet of rock. During its work, the team saw evidence that more rockfalls were likely to occur. Spruce Tree House has been closed until a full assessment and stabilization can be completed. The park plans to use Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to prepare a stabilization plan. In the meantime, visitors can still view the dwelling from overlooks near park headquarters.
4th Grade
Spruce Tree House is a cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park. It is located near the park headquarters. It was built by Ancestral Puebloans in the 1200s. In 1888 local ranchers rediscovered the 114-room dwelling. Along with the rest of Mesa Verde, Spruce Tree House was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978.
Construction and Use
Spruce Tree House is on a cliff wall in Spruce Tree Canyon, across from the Mesa Verde Park Headquarters. Mesa Verde residents had lived on the open flat mesa tops in the area. They later moved their homes to the cliffs for greater protection.
Spruce Tree House was built between about 1200 and 1280. About 100 people lived in the dwelling. Each family built their own kiva (circular areas dug into the ground) and rooms. Spruce Tree House included 114 rooms and eight kivas. The kivas were the main living spaces. They were used as homes and rituals. They could also be covered with a flat roof to make a small plaza. Suites of small rooms were arranged around each kiva. These made a courtyard that was shared by an extended family or clan. Front rooms were used for sleeping and the back rooms were used for storage. As with nearby Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree House was separated into two sections. There may have been two distinct groups that lived there. Both groups may have used a three-story tower.
Like the rest of the Mesa Verde region, Spruce Tree House was abandoned in the 1200s. The Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the south. It is not known why they left Mesa Verde. Changes in the weather and conflict in the area may have forced them to leave.
Rediscovery
The Wetherill family had a ranch in the Mesa Verde area. On December 18, 1888, Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law Charles Mason rediscovered Mesa Verde. The men were searching for cattle with their Ute guide, Acowitz, when they saw Cliff Palace. They discovered Spruce Tree House the next day. They named it for a spruce tree growing in the ruins (the tree was actually a Douglas fir). Wetherill spent the winter digging for artifacts in Cliff Palace and Spruce Tree House. He later sold his collection to the Colorado Historical Society.
In 1891 the site was shown to a Swedish scholar named Gustaf Nordenskiöld. He spent the summer excavating the cliff dwellings, including Spruce Tree House. His book The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde (1893) made people interested the area. He took many artifacts from his excavations. Many of Mesa Verde’s treasures are now housed at the National Museum of Finland.
The cliff dwellings were damaged after their rediscovery. There were more visits from pothunters, amateur archaeologists, and tourists. In response, people who cared about Mesa Verde started a movement to make it a National Park. The Antiquities Act (1906) was passed to prevent people from taking items or harming the park.
Early Archaeological Work
In 1906 the Mesa Verde area became a National Park. Most of the structures in the park were in bad shape. They were filled with debris and in danger of collapsing. The park hired Jesse Walter Fewkes of the Bureau of American Ethnology to excavate, preserve, and do repair work at the park. From 1908 to 1922, Fewkes dug out and stabilized the cliff dwellings.
In 1908 Fewkes started his work at Spruce Tree House. The site had easy access and was near the campsite. It was in better shape than the other ruins in the park. Fewkes and his crew prepared the site for visitors. They cleared rocks and repaired the walls. They improved its water drainage and constructed trails for visitors. They also found more than 500 artifacts.
Since Fewkes’s time, most work at the site has focused on preserving Spruce Tree House by stabilizing the rocks in which the dwelling was built.
Still, the forces of erosion continue to damage Spruce Tree House. Large rockfalls have created problems with the arch above the dwellings. In 1923 a fifty-foot slab of rock fell from the roof of Spruce Tree Cave. Luckily, it did not damage the dwelling. In 1940 workers removed plants and rocks from a large crack above Spruce Tree House. They installed a protective cover to keep water from widening it. In 1960 they had to remove the protective cover because of another rockfall. Cement was put in the crack and a copper covering was added. This, however, did not prevent three rockfalls in the summer of 1964. The park had to close the north end of the dwelling. Visitors were kept thirty feet away for safety until work was completed.
Today
Spruce Tree House had another rockfall in 2015. The dwelling was closed to the public. A climbing team studied the ledge above the dwelling. They removed sixty feet of rock. The team decided that more rockfalls were likely to occur, so Spruce Tree House has been closed to the public for safety. The park is creating a plan to make it safe. In the meantime, visitors can still see the site from overlooks near park headquarters.
