%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo Grounds http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/collegiate-peaks-stampede-rodeo-grounds <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo Grounds</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-06-28T16:16:43-06:00" title="Wednesday, June 28, 2017 - 16:16" class="datetime">Wed, 06/28/2017 - 16:16</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/collegiate-peaks-stampede-rodeo-grounds" data-a2a-title="Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo Grounds"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fcollegiate-peaks-stampede-rodeo-grounds&amp;title=Collegiate%20Peaks%20Stampede%20Rodeo%20Grounds"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>The Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo Grounds southwest of <strong>Buena Vista</strong> was built in 1940 using funds from the <strong>Works Progress Administration</strong>. The rodeo grew out of Buena Vista’s annual Head Lettuce Day celebration and gradually developed into a two-day event considered one of the top small-purse rodeos in the region. The rodeo grounds—which consist of a racetrack, rodeo arena, grandstand, and other facilities—have been updated since the 1990s but retain the look and feel of a small-town rodeo.</p> <h2>Origins in Head Lettuce Day</h2> <p>The Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo grew out of Buena Vista’s annual Head Lettuce Day celebration, which was first held on September 4, 1922. Dreamt up by three locals, the one-day event marked the end of the growing season for head lettuce and other vegetables, whose cultivation was booming in the Upper Arkansas Valley in the years after <a href="/article/colorado-world-war-i"><strong>World War I</strong></a>. The first festival featured a picnic, barbecue, baseball tournament, stock show, and horse and foot races. It was successful enough for the organizers to turn it into an annual event and establish the Head Lettuce Day Rodeo Association.</p> <p>The Head Lettuce Day celebration expanded in 1925, when it was held along with the <a href="/article/chaffee-county"><strong>Chaffee County</strong></a> Fair. To accommodate the larger event, organizers leased land from a golf course about a mile southwest of town, which became the early Head Lettuce Day rodeo grounds. Over the next fifteen years, the rodeo and horse races became the central events at Head Lettuce Day. The rodeo gained a reputation as the top one-day rodeo in Colorado, with local cowboys coming to town to participate and local ranchers donating beef for the barbecue and livestock for the competitions.</p> <h2>WPA Grounds</h2> <p>By 1940 the rodeo had grown so much that it needed expanded seating and more facilities. To help construct the new rodeo grounds, Buena Vista applied for a grant from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which funded many outdoors and recreation projects in rural Colorado during the Great Depression. The application was approved, and construction started in May 1940 at a twenty-acre site across Gregg Drive, just southwest of the existing rodeo grounds. With a crew of about two dozen workers and a budget of just over $12,000, the project provided a boost to Buena Vista by providing employment and pumping cash into the economy. To save on the cost of materials, workers salvaged parts of the old rodeo grounds and used logs donated by local ranchers.</p> <p>Completed in September 1940, the new rodeo complex featured a half-mile racetrack, rodeo arena, and grandstand. The oval racetrack had a north-south orientation, with the rodeo arena occupying about an acre on the west side of the racetrack’s interior. The grandstand stood on the west side of the racetrack and could hold about 400 spectators on rows of painted board seats. It had a small concession building tucked under the seats in its northwest corner. A central balcony allowed judges to keep a close eye on the horse races.</p> <p>The cultivation of lettuce in the Upper Arkansas valley declined after World War II, but the rodeo retained the Head Lettuce Day name into the 1950s. In 1956 it was renamed the Collegiate Peaks Stampede, when it returned to local control after a brief affiliation with the Rodeo Cowboys Association. It included a horse parade through downtown Buena Vista, a square dance performed on horseback, and plenty of rodeo events and horse races. By the 1960s, under the leadership of the Buena Vista Lions Club, the rodeo developed into a two-day event regarded as one of the top amateur rodeos in the state, with bull riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling, roping, barrel racing, and mutton busting. To draw larger tourist crowds, the rodeo was moved from September to June.</p> <h2>Recent Changes</h2> <p>By the middle of the 1990s, the Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo focused solely on rodeo events. Horse racing was dropped because it proved too difficult to continue, and the horse parade stopped in deference to the Buena Vista Chamber of Commerce’s new July Fourth parade, held just a few weeks after the rodeo. The Collegiate Peaks Rodeo Association took over the organization of the rodeo, which became affiliated with the Colorado Rodeo Cowboy Association.</p> <p>Starting in 1993, the rodeo received crucial financial assistance from the Buena Vista Lions Club and American Legion, which gave $6,000 each to help improve the rodeo grounds. Inmates at the nearby <strong>Buena Vista Correctional Facility</strong> built new corrals, outbuildings, a practice arena, and metal fencing. Bleachers were placed on the east side of the rodeo arena to increase the seating capacity by about 270; before that, people who could not fit in the grandstand had simply parked their trucks on that side of the arena to watch. In the late 1990s, lights were added to make night events possible, and in 2013 a new announcer’s booth was built at the south end of the arena after the original booth was destroyed by wind. A new concession stand opened east of the bleachers after the old concession stand tucked under the grandstand was condemned as a fire hazard.</p> <p>In 2016 the Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo Grounds was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today the rodeo attracts about 1,500 spectators over two days and is often named the best rodeo on the small-purse circuit in Colorado and Wyoming.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/buena-vista" hreflang="en">Buena Vista</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/rodeos" hreflang="en">rodeos</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/works-progress-administration" hreflang="en">Works Progress Administration</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/upper-arkansas-valley" hreflang="en">Upper Arkansas Valley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/head-lettuce-day" hreflang="en">Head Lettuce Day</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/collegiate-peaks-stampede-rodeo" hreflang="en">Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Thomas H. Simmons and R. Laurie Simmons, “Head Lettuce Day / Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo Grounds,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (May 3, 2016).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Kathryn Ordway, <em>Colorado’s Rodeo Roots to Modern-day Cowboys</em> (Virginia Beach, VA: Donning, 2004).</p> <p>June Shaputis and Suzanne Kelly, eds., <em>A History of Chaffee County</em> (Buena Vista, CO: Buena Vista Heritage, 1982).</p> <p>Virginia McConnell Simmons, <em>The Upper Arkansas: A Mountain River Valley</em> (Boulder, CO: Pruett, 1990).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 28 Jun 2017 22:16:43 +0000 yongli 2687 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Rock Ledge Ranch (Buena Vista) http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rock-ledge-ranch-buena-vista <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Rock Ledge Ranch (Buena Vista)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--2005--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--2005.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/rock-ledge-ranch"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Rock_Ledge_Ranch-Franzel_Ranch_0.jpg?itok=rj9gyTfq" width="1000" height="763" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/rock-ledge-ranch" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Rock Ledge Ranch</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Located four miles west of Buena Vista near the base of Mt. Princeton and Mt. Yale, Rock Ledge Ranch was settled in 1887 by Ernest Wilber and has been owned and worked by the Franzel family since 1908. It is representative of the long history of agriculture in the Upper Arkansas Valley.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-10-31T10:59:38-06:00" title="Monday, October 31, 2016 - 10:59" class="datetime">Mon, 10/31/2016 - 10:59</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rock-ledge-ranch-buena-vista" data-a2a-title="Rock Ledge Ranch (Buena Vista)"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Frock-ledge-ranch-buena-vista&amp;title=Rock%20Ledge%20Ranch%20%28Buena%20Vista%29"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Established in 1887 by Ernest Wilber, Rock Ledge Ranch is a historic ranch four miles west of <strong>Buena Vista</strong> in the <strong>Upper Arkansas Valley </strong>(17975 Co Rd 338, Buena Vista, CO 81211). Since 1908 the ranch has been owned and operated by multiple generations of the Franzel family, which immigrated to the United States from Germany in the late nineteenth century. Still run by the Franzel family, in 2015 the ranch was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an important example of the Upper Arkansas Valley’s long agricultural tradition.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Wilber <a href="/article/homestead"><strong>Homestead</strong></a></h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On September 15, 1887, Ernest Wilber founded Rock Ledge Ranch. Originally from Michigan, Wilber had come to Colorado in 1880 as a conductor for the <strong>Denver, South Park &amp; Pacific Railroad</strong>. He was based in Buena Vista, where he married Belle Orr in 1882 and became active in local affairs. In 1883 he left his job with the railroad and entered the election for county clerk and recorder. He won the position and acquired a ranch near Buena Vista, but in 1885 he lost his bid for re-election because some thought he cared more about his ranch than his clerkship.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Wilber clearly paid attention to his ranch work, for he quickly gained a reputation as a successful cattleman and vegetable grower. In the late 1880s he acquired Rock Ledge Ranch a few miles west of Buena Vista along Cottonwood Creek. He settled the land in September 1887, and his family followed in January 1888. That year the family built a log house on the land, and by 1890 they also had a barn, a cellar, and an <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/irrigation-colorado"><strong>irrigation</strong></a> ditch. They were raising horses, cattle, and hogs, and had 160 acres planted in peas, potatoes, and hay.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1891 Wilber tried to win the county clerk and recorder position again but was defeated. At the ranch, he shifted his focus from cattle and vegetables to dairy cows and started to deliver milk in the area using a canvas-covered wagon. As the business grew, he switched his herd to Jersey cows, which were regarded as the best milk cows at the time. He also built an ice house and started selling ice.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ernest’s wife, Belle Wilber, spent her summers on the ranch but lived in Buena Vista during the winters. She also became politically active in the 1890s and was involved in the successful campaign for <a href="/article/womens-suffrage-movement"><strong>women’s suffrage in Colorado</strong></a> in 1893.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Franzel Ranch</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1908 the Wilbers sold the ranch to Gustav Adolph “Gus” Franzel, a miner in <strong>Granite</strong> who had decided that he could make a better living selling food to miners. A German immigrant who came to the United States in 1890, Franzel had married fellow German immigrant Marie Baier in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/leadville"><strong>Leadville</strong></a> in 1894. The couple had three children—Carl, Herman, and Erna—in the 1890s, and became naturalized citizens in 1903.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After Franzel acquired Rock Ledge Ranch, the rest of his young family moved there from Granite on January 1, 1909. The Franzel family grew garden peas, lettuce, and potatoes, selling much of their produce in Leadville. They also raised hogs, using them to make German sausages such as liverwurst. Franzel became a leading local rancher, and in 1916 he helped organize the <a href="/article/chaffee-county"><strong>Chaffee County</strong></a> Cattle and Horse Growers Association.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Franzels gradually added new buildings to the ranch. In the 1920s Franzel brought an old brooder house from Leadville to have a heated building for raising chicks. He also moved another building from Leadville and used it to expand the original log ranch house.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Next Generations</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As Gus Franzel got older, his son Carl took on more responsibility at the ranch, eventually becoming its owner after his father died in 1950. His duties shifted with the seasons: winter was for maintaining buildings, spring for herding cattle, summer for harvesting hay, and fall for rounding up cattle. After he acquired the ranch’s first tractor in 1940, other mechanized tools and appliances began to ease certain farm tasks. Carl and his wife, Lois, had three children—Lucia, Kenneth, and Jan—who helped with chores around the ranch in the 1940s and 1950s.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After Carl died in 1980, his son, Kenneth, retired from the Air Force and returned to the ranch with his wife, Grace. They helped Lois Franzel until her death in 1984, when they inherited the property. In 1987 they remodeled and expanded the ranch house, whose core still dates to the Wilber family’s original 1888 log house. They continue to raise cattle, keep a vegetable garden, and maintain the ranch’s buildings, fences, and fields.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/buena-vista" hreflang="en">Buena Vista</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/upper-arkansas-valley" hreflang="en">Upper Arkansas Valley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/historic-ranches" hreflang="en">historic ranches</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/agriculture" hreflang="en">agriculture</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ernest-wilber" hreflang="en">Ernest Wilber</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gustav-franzel" hreflang="en">Gustav Franzel</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>R. Laurie Simmons and Thomas H. Simmons, “Rock Ledge Ranch/Franzel Ranch,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (January 30, 2015).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>June Shaputis and Suzanne Kelly, eds., <em>A History of Chaffee County</em> (Marceline, MO: Walsworth, 1982).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Virginia McConnell Simmons, <em>The Upper Arkansas: A Mountain River Valley</em> (Boulder: Pruett, 1990).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 31 Oct 2016 16:59:38 +0000 yongli 2006 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org