Mesa Verde National Park. Red Rocks Park. Pikes Peak. What do these three iconic Colorado locations have in common? They are all historic gems that represent an important part of Colorado’s history. You learned all about these locations during your high school history class, but did you know about these 13 equally important hidden historic gems located in Colorado? They include:
Please note, The Shenandoah-Dives Mill and Philadelphia Toboggan Company Carousel No. 6 are temporarily closed.
- Lowry Pueblo (Pleasant View)
Wikimedia Commons Mesa Verde isn’t the only Ancestral Puebloan archaeological site in Colorado. The impressive Lowry Pueblo is a 40-room, multiple kiva dwelling estimated to have been built around 1060 AD and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Speaking of the Ancestral Puebloan…
- Hovenweep National Monument (Montezuma County)
Wikimedia Commons …a landmark we share with our neighbors to the west is Hovenweep; six groups of Ancestral Puebloan villages that were occupied between 6000 BC to approximately 200 AD. The well-kept villages became a National Monument in 1923.
- Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (Cortez)
Wikimedia Commons When you visit Hovenweep National Monument, make it a point to also visit the surrounding Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, which houses another 6,000 well-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archeological sites.
- Buffalo Bill’s Grave (Golden)
Wikimedia Commons Located in beautiful Golden is the museum and grave site of legendary showman Buffalo Bill Cody. Be careful when you visit his fascinating gallery and resting place: legend has it that souvenirs at the Buffalo Bill Museum fall off the shelves without any coaxing and that a man resembling Cody has been seen wandering around the gift shop.
- NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Clock (Boulder)
Wikimedia Commons Housed inside the Boulder National Institute of Standards and Technology is that of the NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Clock; a super accurate atomic clock that is expected to neither gain nor lose a second in the next 100 million years.
- Ludlow Massacre Monument (Trinidad)
Wikimedia Commons A dark stain on Colorado’s history is when 19 men, women, and children were brutally killed by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company during a lengthy coal mine strike in 1914. Today, the site of the Ludlow Massacre is marked with this hauntingly beautiful monument.
- Lindenmeier Site (Wellington)
Wikimedia Commons Located in Larimer County, the Lindenmeier Site is said to contain the most Folsom cultures (with a radiocarbon date of 10,600 to 10,720 B.P.) ever found. In addition to the artifacts from the Paleo-Indian culture, researchers have also discovered a stunning collection of Archaic and Late pre-historic period pieces.
- Castlewood Canyon Dam (Franktown)
Wikimedia Commons All that remains from the old Castlewood Canyon Dam, which burst in 1933 and in turn flooded most of Denver, are these dismal and unmoved stones.
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (Florissant)
Wikimedia Commons If beautifully preserved fossils of million-year-old insects and plants are your thing, the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is your place.
- Shenandoah-Dives Mill (Silverton)
Wikimedia Commons Built in 1929 to recover silver, gold, copper, zinc, and lead from the minerals mined nearby, the Mill is the only fully intact and still functional mill of its kind in the entire state.
- Vindicator Valley Trail (Victor)
TripAdvisor/Thomas A Are you ready to take a hike through history? The memorable Vindicator Valley Trail offers just that with its windy trail that passes a number of abandoned mines.
- Philadelphia Toboggan Company Carousel No. 6 (Burlington)
Kit Carson County Carousel Facebook Also known as the Elitch Gardens and/or Kit Carson County Carousel, this 1905 Philadelphia Toboggan Company masterpiece features gorgeous, hand-carved animals and original 1909 Wurlitzer 155 “Monster” military band organ.
- Doc Holliday’s Grave (Glenwood Springs)
Wikimedia Commons The notorious lawman lived an intriguing life, so it only makes sense that his time posthumous would be the same; since being buried at the (now) Linwood Cemetery in Glenwood Springs, the exact whereabouts of his body have been lost and his tombstone has been changed due to errors in the original.
How many of these historic hidden gems have you visited?
Wikimedia Commons
Mesa Verde isn’t the only Ancestral Puebloan archaeological site in Colorado. The impressive Lowry Pueblo is a 40-room, multiple kiva dwelling estimated to have been built around 1060 AD and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Speaking of the Ancestral Puebloan…
…a landmark we share with our neighbors to the west is Hovenweep; six groups of Ancestral Puebloan villages that were occupied between 6000 BC to approximately 200 AD. The well-kept villages became a National Monument in 1923.
When you visit Hovenweep National Monument, make it a point to also visit the surrounding Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, which houses another 6,000 well-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archeological sites.
Located in beautiful Golden is the museum and grave site of legendary showman Buffalo Bill Cody. Be careful when you visit his fascinating gallery and resting place: legend has it that souvenirs at the Buffalo Bill Museum fall off the shelves without any coaxing and that a man resembling Cody has been seen wandering around the gift shop.
Housed inside the Boulder National Institute of Standards and Technology is that of the NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Clock; a super accurate atomic clock that is expected to neither gain nor lose a second in the next 100 million years.
A dark stain on Colorado’s history is when 19 men, women, and children were brutally killed by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company during a lengthy coal mine strike in 1914. Today, the site of the Ludlow Massacre is marked with this hauntingly beautiful monument.
Located in Larimer County, the Lindenmeier Site is said to contain the most Folsom cultures (with a radiocarbon date of 10,600 to 10,720 B.P.) ever found. In addition to the artifacts from the Paleo-Indian culture, researchers have also discovered a stunning collection of Archaic and Late pre-historic period pieces.
All that remains from the old Castlewood Canyon Dam, which burst in 1933 and in turn flooded most of Denver, are these dismal and unmoved stones.
If beautifully preserved fossils of million-year-old insects and plants are your thing, the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is your place.
Built in 1929 to recover silver, gold, copper, zinc, and lead from the minerals mined nearby, the Mill is the only fully intact and still functional mill of its kind in the entire state.
TripAdvisor/Thomas A
Are you ready to take a hike through history? The memorable Vindicator Valley Trail offers just that with its windy trail that passes a number of abandoned mines.
Kit Carson County Carousel Facebook
Also known as the Elitch Gardens and/or Kit Carson County Carousel, this 1905 Philadelphia Toboggan Company masterpiece features gorgeous, hand-carved animals and original 1909 Wurlitzer 155 “Monster” military band organ.
The notorious lawman lived an intriguing life, so it only makes sense that his time posthumous would be the same; since being buried at the (now) Linwood Cemetery in Glenwood Springs, the exact whereabouts of his body have been lost and his tombstone has been changed due to errors in the original.
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