Routt County Historic Preservation Board Application for Local Historic Designation
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ROUTT COUNTY HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD APPLICATION FOR LOCAL HISTORIC DESIGNATION Date of Submission: January 26, 2018 Name of Site or Property to be used for Designation: Elmer House Other Names Site or Property may have been called: N/A Property is being nominated as a : Site___ Building _X_ District___Structure___ (check one. See helpful hints for definitions) Physical: 39911 County Rd 80 Hayden CO Legal: TR of land in NE4NE4 9-6-88 Total 5.41A Please note: A copy of your most recent tax assessment notice from the Routt County Assessor’s Office is required. Large properties might require a detailed description. Only the portion of the property being nominated should be included in the legal description provided in the application. Your application should state clearly whether the property is to be nominated as a site. building, district, or structure. Please consult an RCHPB Member or staff if you need help with this determination. Routt County Assessor’s Office Schedule Number: The house sits on property listed on parcel # 940091007 Acct# R4356503. Name of Owner of the Structure: Sally Tyler Owner Mailing Address: P.O. Box 874 Hayden, CO 81639-0874 Contact: Sally Tyler Contact Address (if different from Owner): Does the property have State and/or National designation? If so, what is/are the number(s) and date(s) listed? No _____________________________________________________________________________ 1 Following are 8 parts to this application process. Each part must be completed in full and submitted with nine (9) copies, for the application to be reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board. Completed applications should be submitted for consideration to the Routt County Historic Preservation Board (RCHPB), P.O. Box 773598, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477, or hand delivered to the Board of County Commissioners’ Office, Courthouse Annex, 136 Sixth Street, one month before the meeting of the Board. Verify time and place with the RCHPB Assistant (879-0108). PLEASE USE ONLY ONE SIDE OF EACH PIECE OF PAPER AND NUMBER YOUR PAGES CONSECUTIVELY. THANK YOU. Part 1: Statement of Significance Please select the most significantly appropriate criterion or criteria. Note that only one criterion is necessary for designation. X A. Its character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of Routt County, the State of Colorado, or the United States. ___ B. Its location as a site of a significant historic event. X_ C. Its identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the culture and development of Routt County. __ D. Its exemplification of the cultural, economic, social, or historic heritage of Routt County. ___ E. Its portrayal of the environment of a group of people in an era of history characterized by a distinctive architectural style. ___ F. Its embodiment of distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or specimen. ___ G. Its identification as the work of an architect or master builder whose individual work has influenced the development of Routt County. ___ H. Its embodiment of elements of architectural design, detail, materials, and/or craftsmanship that represents a significant architectural innovation. ___ I. Its relationship to other distinctive areas that are eligible for preservation according to a plan based on an historic, cultural, or architectural motif. _X_ J. Its unique location or singular physical characteristic representing an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, a community, or Routt County. The Statement of Significance: The Elmer house is a residential home located just outside the Town limits of Hayden on the northern continuation of Walnut Street where it becomes County Road 80. The house meets three of the Routt County Historic Preservation Board criteria: (A.) Its character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of Routt County, State of Colorado or United States; (C.) Its identification with a person or persons, who significantly contributed to the culture and development of Routt County; (J.) Its unique location or singular physical characteristic representing an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, a community, or Routt County. 2 The Elmer house is a distinctive and familiar landmark just north of the railroad tracks from the Town of Hayden. It is a unique building constructed for Mathias and Maria Elmer, after they semi-retired from successfully homesteading and ranching in the Morgan Bottom area. They had the house built for them with all of the modern conveniences available at the time so they could move to town and semi-retire from ranching while allowing their youngest daughter to pursue her high school diploma. The house, built of brick and including modern conveniences in its construction, exemplifies the Elmer’s growth in affluence afforded to them from proving up on their homestead and successfully ranching for a number of years in the area. The construction of larger homes with modern conveniences were due in part to the economic boom following the arrival of the railroad in 1913. The Elmers both contributed to the development of the area and were active members in the Hayden community. The brick house is a visual feature of the area just north of Hayden on County Road 80. Background History of Hayden Area: Hayden was first settled in 1874 by Albert Smart and J.B. Thompson, who brought their families to the valley.1 The area was called the Bear River Colony, an enterprise which sought to establish an agriculture based “colony” of homesteaders in an effort to settle the area. However, due to the proximity of the White River Indian Reservation Agency, growth was slow. Many of the early homesteaders, including the Smart and Thompson families, evacuated the area in the aftermath of the Meeker Massacre at the White River Agency in September of 1879. After the removal of the Utes from Colorado to Utah in the early 1880’s, homesteaders began to trickle back into the area, taking up preemptive land claims under the Homestead Act. The town site of Hayden was developed during the 1890’s and incorporated in 1906. In 1909, the area of West Routt County was “recognized as one of the garden spots of this great state,” due to its relatively flat pastures, available water from the Yampa River and various creeks and tributaries, and temperate weather temperatures, which enabled a wide variety of crops to be grown in addition to livestock ranching. Furthermore, plans for a railroad to pass through the area drew more settlers to the region.2 David Moffat, Denver banking and railroad magnate, planned to build a rail line westward from Denver to Salt Lake City through Northwest Colorado creating a transcontinental line with Hayden as a shipping center for the county. This would allow area ranchers and farmers to readily transport goods to distant markets and catalyzed the development of the area’s vast coal fields. The rail line reached Hayden in October of 1913. However, due to financial setbacks and the death of David Moffat, the rail line abruptly ended in Craig, Colorado that same year and the rail line to Salt Lake City never materialized.3 Nevertheless, the line did connect northwest Colorado to Denver markets. Hayden became a shipping hub for the immediate area, spurring the development of area coal mines that led to an economic boom. 1 Jan Leslie. Anthracite, Barbee and Tosh A History of Routt County and its Post Offices, 2005, p 33 2 Steamboat Pilot, Progress Edition “Town of Hayden Occupies commanding Position” November 18, 1909. Supplement. 3 Winter and Company, “Historic Context of Routt County” January 1994. 3 Elmer Family Mathias (Matt) Elmer was born in Switzerland on April 18, 1851.4 He apprenticed as a butcher and worked in Paris, France before coming to the United States in 1874, where he relocated to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.5 In 1876 he moved to Colorado – first to Denver and then Central City. It was there that he met Marie Geisel, who was born March 16, 1863 in Wurttemberg, Germany. They were married September 29, 1881.6 The newlyweds briefly went to the Black Hills of South Dakota before returning to Colorado in 1883, where they took up a homestead and preemptive claim on the Morgan Bottom area near the emerging town of Hayden in Routt County. Matt Elmer was a successful rancher, and both he and his wife Marie took active roles in the development of the Town of Hayden and Routt County. Marie took on a number of roles in the community, including the organization of the Congregational Church, Routt County Schools, and political roles. Marie served on the Morgan Bottom School Board in the early years while they proved up on their homestead.7 She later served as Routt County School Board secretary for Hayden. Marie was a devout member of the Hayden Congregational Church, serving as a Hayden delegate to the Congregational Association of Northwestern Colorado, as well as a church deaconess and as the Chairwoman of the Women’s Association for a number of years.8 Marie was politically active as a staunch democrat and served as Hayden’s democrat delegate to the 1922 assembly in Steamboat Springs.9 She also served in the County office as committeewoman for Precinct no. 4 for several terms.10 Marie was one of the organizers of the Women’s Auxiliary War Council in 1917. Both Matt and Marie were active members of the Pioneer Association. Matt and Marie had four daughters who married local Hayden businessmen who were influential in the development of Hayden including: D.L. Sellers, owner of a meat market; George H. Kleckner, owner of Kleckners City Grocery and Meat Market; Henry Summers, partner of George Kleckner; and Elmer Birkett.11 Elmer House By the 1910’s, Mathias and Marie Elmer had decided to move closer to town so their youngest daughter, Emma, could attend high school.