Hornbek House

Built in 1878, the Hornbek House is in Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. It is significant for its association with Adeline Hornbek. She was a single mother who started a ranch in the Florissant area and lived in the house for twenty-seven years. The large one-and-a-half-story house is also an outstanding example of late nineteenth-century log-house architecture in the region. In 1973 the National Park Service acquired the house. In 1981 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hornbek Family

Adeline Hornbek managed to forge a life of her own in the late nineteenth-century West. She was born in 1833 in Massachusetts as Adeline Warfield. In the 1850s her brother worked as an Indian trader in what is now Oklahoma. There, she met and fell in love with his business partner, Simon Harker. The couple married in 1858 and had two children. Soon Simon became ill, and in 1861 the family moved to Colorado. They hoped that the territory’s reputedly healthful climate would help Simon recover.

In Colorado the Harkers homesteaded along the South Platte River northeast of Denver. With Simon also working as an Indian agent, the family was relatively well off. In 1863 Adeline had a third child. Disaster struck in 1864, when Simon died and the Cherry Creek flood inundated the Harker homestead. Adeline survived by selling crops and livestock to miners.

In 1866 Adeline bought the land her family was homesteading. She also married a Denver man named Elliot D. Hornbek, about whom very little is known. In 1870 the couple had a son. By 1875 Elliot Hornbek had abandoned his family. Adeline Hornbek was left alone with four children between the ages of five and sixteen.

Moving to Florissant

Soon after Elliot Hornbek left the family, Adeline and her children moved from Denver to Florissant. Adeline filed the area’s first homestead application in 1878. Her land lay about a mile south of town. It featured good access to water, wood, meadows for grazing, and transportation. She hired a builder to use local Ponderosa pines to construct a large log house for her family. Completed in 1878, the house had four bedrooms, a kitchen, and a parlor. It was the first in the Florissant valley to have more than one story. Nearby, Adeline also built a milk house, chicken house, and stables. She raised cows, horses, pigs, and poultry. She planted hay and potatoes, and had a vegetable garden.

Adeline Hornbek became an active and prosperous member of the Florissant community during her twenty-seven years in the area. She worked at the Florissant general store, served on the school board, and hosted dances and other social events at her house. When she was sixty-six years old, she married a young German immigrant named Frederick Sticksel. He was probably a worker on the ranch. She died about five years later, on June 27, 1905.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

After Adeline Hornbek’s death, her property was owned by James Lafferty for a few years. The Harry family then owned it for a few decades. In 1943 the property was acquired by Palmer John Singer. Since 1927 Singer had operated one of the two main tourist attractions at what was known as the Colorado Petrified Forest south of Florissant. The former Hornbek property, located just north of Singer’s ranch, allowed him to expand his operations.

For decades, private owners had been selling tickets to see the area’s fossils and petrified forest. In the 1960s, the National Park Service started to pursue protected status for the fossil beds. The effort stalled for several years. Then, in 1969, the threat of a new housing development nearby spurred the creation of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. In 1973 the National Park Service expanded the monument by acquiring the Singer family ranch. When the park service found that the Singer ranch included an early homestead, it started to highlight the Hornbek House as part of an effort to focus on the area’s human history. The park service attempted to recreate Adeline Hornbek’s homestead. They moved historic buildings from other parts of the monument to the sites of her original ranch structures.

In 1981 the Hornbek House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today rangers offer guided tours of the homestead buildings. In late July volunteers dress in period costumes at the homestead for Florissant Heritage Day.

Built in 1878, the Hornbek House is in Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. It is significant for its association with Adeline Hornbek, a single mother who started a ranch in the Florissant area. She lived in the house for twenty-seven years. The large one-and-a-half-story house is an outstanding example of late nineteenth-century log-house architecture in the region. In 1973 the National Park Service acquired the house. In 1981 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hornbek Family

Adeline Hornbek forged a life of her own in the late nineteenth-century West. She was born in 1833 in Massachusetts as Adeline Warfield. In the 1850s, her brother worked as an Indian trader in what is now Oklahoma. There, she met and fell in love with his business partner, Simon Harker. The couple married in 1858 and had two children. Soon Simon became ill, and in 1861 the family moved to Colorado. They hoped that Simon would recover in the territory’s reputedly healthful climate.

In Colorado the Harkers homesteaded along the South Platte River northeast of Denver. With Simon also working as an Indian agent, the family was relatively well off. In 1863 Adeline had a third child. Disaster struck when Simon died in 1864. That same year, the Cherry Creek flood inundated the Harker homestead. Adeline was able to survive by selling crops and livestock to miners.

In 1866 Adeline bought the land her family was homesteading. She also married a Denver man named Elliot D. Hornbek, about whom very little is known. In 1870 the couple had a son. By 1875 Elliot Hornbek had abandoned his family. Adeline Hornbek was left alone with four children between the ages of five and sixteen.

Moving to Florissant

Soon after Elliot Hornbek left the family, Adeline and her children moved from Denver to Florissant. Adeline filed the area’s first homestead application in 1878. Her land lay about a mile south of town. It featured good access to water, wood, meadows for grazing, and transportation. She hired a builder to construct a large log house for her family out of Ponderosa pines. Completed in 1878, the house had four bedrooms, a kitchen, and a parlor. It was the first in the Florissant valley to have more than one story. Nearby, Adeline also built a milk house, chicken house, and stables. She raised cows, horses, pigs, and poultry. She planted hay and potatoes and had a vegetable garden.

Adeline Hornbek lived for twenty-seven years in the area and became an active and prosperous member of the Florissant community. She worked at the Florissant general store and served on the school board. She hosted dances and other social events at her house. When she was sixty-six years old, she married a young German immigrant named Frederick Sticksel. He was probably a worker on the ranch. She died about five years later, on June 27, 1905.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

After Adeline Hornbek’s death, her property was owned by James Lafferty for a few years. The Harry family then owned it for a few decades. In 1943 the property was acquired by Palmer John Singer. Since 1927, Singer had operated one of the two main tourist attractions at what was known as the Colorado Petrified Forest south of Florissant. The former Hornbek property, located just north of Singer’s ranch, allowed him to expand his operations.

For decades, private owners had been selling tickets to see the area’s fossils and petrified forest. In the 1960s, the National Park Service started to pursue protected status for the fossil beds. The effort stalled for several years. Then, in 1969 the threat of a new housing development spurred the creation of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. In 1973 the National Park Service expanded the monument by acquiring the Singer family ranch. The park service learned that the Singer ranch had included the Hornbek homestead. It began to highlight the house as part of an effort to focus on the area’s human history. The park service attempted to recreate Adeline Hornbek’s homestead. They moved historic buildings from other parts of the monument to the sites of her original ranch structures.

In 1981 the Hornbek House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today rangers offer guided tours of the homestead buildings. In late July volunteers dress in period costumes at the homestead for Florissant Heritage Day.

Hornbek House was built in 1878. It is in Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Adeline Hornbek started a ranch as a single mother. She had a log home built. The one-and-a-half-story home is historic. In 1973 the National Park Service took ownership of it. In 1981 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hornbek Family

Adeline Hornbek was a single mother in the late 1800s. She was born in 1833 in Massachusetts as Adeline Warfield. Her brother worked as an Indian trader. Adeline met his partner, Simon Harker, and they fell in love. In 1858 they married. They had two children. Soon Simon became ill. In 1861 the family moved to Colorado because the climate was thought to be healthy. They hoped that Simon would recover.

The Harkers homesteaded northeast of Denver. Simon worked as an Indian agent. In 1863 they had a third child. But Simon died in 1864. That year, Cherry Creek flooded. Water covered their land. Adeline survived. She sold crops and livestock to miners.

In 1866 Adeline married again. Elliot Hornbek was from Denver. In 1870 they had a son. By 1875 Elliot was gone. He left his family. Adeline Hornbek was alone with four children, ages five to sixteen.

Moving to Florissant

Adeline moved. She filed a homestead application in 1878. It was the first in the Florissant area. Her land lay about a mile south of town. It had good access to water and was near roads. There was wood for building and meadows for grazing.

Adeline hired a builder to construct a large log house. He used Ponderosa pines. It was the first house in the valley to have more than one story. The house had a kitchen and a parlor, and had four bedrooms. Nearby, Adeline built a milk house, chicken house, and stables. She raised cows, horses, pigs, and poultry. She planted hay and potatoes. The family had a vegetable garden.

Adeline lived for twenty-seven years in the area and was very active. She worked at the general store and served on the school board. Social events and dances were hosted at her house. When she was sixty-six years old, she married a young German named Frederick Sticksel. He may have been a worker on her ranch. She died about five years later, on June 27, 1905.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

After Adeline’s death, her property had several owners. In 1943 Palmer John Singer got it. He had run a tourist attraction just south of Florissant since 1927. The area was called the Colorado Petrified Forest. People came to see the fossils. Singer expanded the attraction by purchasing Adeline’s land.

Later, the National Park Service wanted to protect the fossils. In 1969 new housing was planned for the area. The Park Service moved faster. They created the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. In 1973 they bought Singer’s property. The Hornbek house was now inside the park. The park service moved the historic buildings and recreated Adeline’s homestead.

In 1981 the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today rangers offer guided tours. Florissant Heritage Day is in late July. Volunteers at the homestead dress in costume and talk about how people lived in the 1800s.