Boulder County Designated
Historic Sites and Structures
Although Boulder County did not begin its formal historic preservation
program until 1992, efforts to preserve our cultural heritage began seventeen
years earlier, when the Parks and Open Space Department's first Director, Libby
Goodwin, responded to the County Bicentennial Commission's request for projects
by suggesting, "a program which identifies and designates scenic, historic,
archaeological, geologic, vegetative, and other landmarks...." As a result of
that groundbreaking suggestion, R. Michael Collard began the first of a series
of historic site inventories in unincorporated Boulder County in September 1976,
with Robert G. Rosenberg expanding upon Collards’ efforts the following year by
completing a detailed inventory of sites west of the foothills. Support to
protect cultural resources continued to grow, and by February 1977, Boulder
County made the first conscience effort to buy property for preservation
purposes by acquiring Ernie Betasso's historic 713-acre ranch, six miles west of
Boulder. Since that time, Boulder County has become a leader in historic
preservation through its stewardship of numerous historic properties and by
encouraging private property owners to preserve their historic resources.
Today, we are proud to celebrate Boulder County’s Historic Preservation Program
by exhibiting the rich history of a few of our local landmarks. |
