Form No. 10-300 , ^0-'"rl tfW- UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES -- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS NAME HISTORIC LAKE CITY AND/OR COMMON TOWN OF LAKE CITY LOCATION STREET & NUMBER —NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY. TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT LAKE CITY _.VICINITY OF 03 STATE CODE COUNTY CODE COLORADO 08 HINSDALE 065 CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE ^.DISTRICT —PUBLIC —OCCUPIED _ AGRICULTURE JSviUSEUM _ BUILDING(S) —PRIVATE —UNOCCUPIED XCOMMERCIAL —PARK —STRUCTURE X_BOTH X-WORK IN PROGRESS ^EDUCATIONAL .^PRIVATE RESIDENCE —SITE PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE XENTERTAINMENT .XRELIGIOUS —OBJECT _IN PROCESS —YES: RESTRICTED XGOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC —BEING CONSIDERED X_YES: UNRESTRICTED —INDUSTRIAL —TRANSPORTATION —NO —MILITARY —OTHER: OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME SEE ATTACHED LIST STREET & NUMBER CITY. TOWN STATE VICINITY OF ( LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE. REGISTRY OF DEEos.ETC. HINSDALE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, COUNTY CLERK STREET & NUMBER BOX 107 CITY. TOWN STATE LAKE CITY COLORADO 1 REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE COLORADO INVENTORY OF HISTORIC SITES DATE ONGOING —FEDERAL KsTATE —COUNTY —LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS COLQRADO STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 1300. Broadway. CITY. TOWN STATE DESCRIPTION CONDITION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE —EXCELLENT —DETERIORATED —UNALTERED ^ORIGINAL SITE _RUINS X-ALTERED —MOVED DATE. _FAIR _UNEXPOSED DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE Established in 1875 as a way station on the Saguache-San Juan Toll Road, Lake City, Colorado, is an important historic mining town nestled in the foothills of the San Juan Mountains. There are almost no modern intrusions within the town and, as a result, the ambiance/created by the log cabins, frame houses, and the historic stone commercial structures, remains intact. Lake City sits in a small valley bounded on three sides by large bluffs and hills, and two main rivers of the area merge on the southern end of town. Large trees grace the landscape along with the town buildings and houses. The growth of the town was limited by these natural barriers and the remoteness of the community. The distance from major roadways has contributed to the unspoiled nature of the town. The recent interest in restoration is merely a long time dream finding reality. Lake City was platted using the "grid system" which ignores rivers, natural features, hills and lakes. The town streets running north and south are named with proper names. All east-west streets are numerical, beginning on the::-36uth~at the"-<r±ver and advancing north. The nucleus of the town was First Street to Third Street from Gunnison Avenue to Silver Street. This area was the main business area and much of the expansion developed around this area. This expansion was halted by the natural barrier of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, leaving vir­ tually half of the platted town undeveloped until recent years. Because of this natural barrier and the lack of development east of the river, this is the eastern boundary of the district. The northern bourtiary is Eighth Street. North of this street was a large lake and marsh that has only recently been developed. Eighth Street was the end of construction in historic Lake City on the north. The western bourdary is the bluff on the west side of town. This also serves as the corporate boundary j Of the plat. The southern boundary x>f.the district is also the corporate limits of the town. A large hill rises on the south side of Henson Creek and the line runs at the base of this hill, then the bouad^ry proceeds along Henson Creek to the Lake~TFork on the east. The large majority of the major structures within the town date from the period 1875 to 1900. These range from the simple log cabins to the massive stone buildings of the downtown area. Several different stages of develop­ ment are visible when considering the structures in the town. The earli­ est are the ordinal'log'cabins. The Thompson Cabin (Photo #17) is a two-story hand-hewn log cabin. Under the floor in the back room is a cellar that was used as a hiding place in case of Indian attacks. SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE - CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW _PREHISTORIC _ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC —COMMUNITY PLANNING —LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE _RELIGION _1400-1499 XARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC —CONSERVATION _LAW —SCIENCE —1500-1599 _AGRICULTURE —ECONOMICS _LITERATURE —SCULPTURE _1600-1699 ^ARCHITECTURE KEDUCATION —MILITARY SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN _1700-1799 _ART __ENGINEERING —MUSIC —THEATER X.1800-1899 XCOMMERCE —.EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT —PHILOSOPHY —TRANSPORTATION X-1900- _COMMUNICATIONS _INDUSTRY X-POLITICS/GOVERNMENT —OTHER (SPECIFY) __INVENTION SPECIFIC DATES BUILDER/ARCHITECT STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Retaining much of its frontier ambiance, Lake City, Colorado, is an excel­ lent example of a mining town which grew beyond its early beginniings into a significant focal point for an entire area. Containing not only the first newspaper on the western slope of Colorado, but a number of early churches which had a significant cultural impact on the surrounding region, the town also possesses legal significance as the site of the only trial for cannibalism in the United States. Excellent examples of different styles of construction from each period of the town's history reinforce the historical integrity of Lake City. For the first three quarters of the nineteenth century, the San Juan Mounr tnin region in southestern Colorado remained virtually untouched. Even though gold had been reported there as early as 1860, the rugged terrain, the hostile Ute Indians whose land this nominally was, and easier access to other mining areas such as Leadville and Central City were sufficient to keep the white man out. In the early 1870's there was renewed interest in mining possibilities of the area. As the miners moved in, pressure quickly increased in the U.S. Government to settle the "Ute Problem". The result was the Brunot Treaty of 1874 which removed the Ute Indians and opened the San Juans to settle­ ment. Development began quickly in what would become one of the richest mining areas in all of Colorado. That same year (1874) Otto Mears commissioned Enos Hotchkiss to build a toll road from Saguache into the Lake Fork Valley. While there, Hotchkiss made a major gold discovery which was developed into the Golden Fleece Mine, one of the richest in the area. This discovery confirmed the regions potential. As a result, in 1875 Mears commissioned Hotchkiss to build the Antelope Springs Toll Road, which quickly became the principal route into the San Juan Mining region. Recognizing the importance of the site of Lake City, Mears helped finance the Lake City Town Company which platted the townsite. To further publicize the new town, Mears played an important role in the establishment of the Silver World (1875), the first newspaper on the west slope of Colorado. The establishment of the transportation network for the entire region was one of Otto Mears 1 main objectives, and he remained active in Lake City affairs for a number of years. In addition to using the town as a base for a i number of his toll roads, he served on the town board in 1876. IMAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES I 45 acres UTM REFERENCES A|1.3| |2|9.7|2.4 tO| J4. 2 . 3.0 1 BJ1.3| 1219.6)7.5,51 14.211.017.4.01 ZONE EASTING o NORTHING ZONE EASTING NORTHING U.2ll,0l9.4 , D|li3| |2 I 9.6 I 7. 8.5 | J4 3 111 |li2 tOt VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION The -Astern boundary of the Lake City Historic District is the base of the bluff which forms the corporate limits of the town. Crossing First Street the bourdaiy proceeds 770 feet to the south before turning at an angle back to the east until reaching the intersection of First and Lake Street. The Boundary then runs north down the middle of Lake Street to the intersection of Eighth Street at which point it turns back to the west until reaching the FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE none CODE COUNTY CODE STATE CODE COUNTY CODE FORM PREPARED BY NAME/TITLE Suzanne Mason, Reseacher March 1, 1977 ORGANIZATION DATE Hinsdale County Histroical Society 944-2546 STREETS NUMBER TELEPHONE Box 353 CITY OR TOWN STATE Lake Citv Colorado STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS: NATIONAL JL_ STATE___ LOCAL___ As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service^ STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE TITLE State Historic Preservation Officer DATE 10/24/77 GPO 892-453 LIST OF PROPERTY OWNERS OF LAKE CITY Lots 15-16 & S| of l4,ELk 70 Base, Quentin & Vivian Rt 2 Sedgwick, Kans. 67135 Lots 3-6, blk 38 Beek, Margie M. 3675 Sebastian Cr. Reno, Nev. W Il4f t of lot 24 & all of lot 23, except parcel lift by 14ft in NE comer, blk 55 Adams, Francis C. Jr. & JoAnn P. Box 211 Lake City, Co. 8123 s Io-l6, blk58 llbert, Karl & Gladys 1810 Main Woodward, Okla. 7 t 8,blk 58 * Ash, Dorthy Virginia Box 327 Bunker Hill, ELI. 62014 Lots 20-21,blk 38 i Ashley, Charles Norman & Kathalyn S. Lake City, Co. 81235 Lots 7-9, blk 40 ^••Benedict Land & Cattle Co, Box 164 Aspen, Co. 81611 Lot 3, blk 28 y Benvenuto, John A. Box 217 Lake City, Co. 81235 Lots 13-16 & S| of 12 & E 25ft of 21, blk 55 Betty Lou Light Co.