Description

You will be informed of program changes or problems via email. Activities are subject to change due to bad weather. Refunds made if notified one week in advance or in case of an emergency. Members have priority due to limits by museums, parking, and other restrictions. No pets are allowed on tours. When carpooling remember to reimburse the driver.

Don’t let being hard of hearing stop you from signing up. We now have tour guide wireless receivers with earbuds for you.

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Wednesday – June 19, 2024  8:30-3:00
BELLVUE & MORNING FRESH DAIRY TOUR

The first Euro-American settlers arrived in the valley soon after Antoine Janis became the first white settler in northern Colorado in 1858. The farm and pasture lands were squatted upon in the two years that followed, so that most was claimed by G.R. Sanderson, one of these first settlers, who built the first irrigation ditch in the county in June 1860. The ditch was the second one constructed in northern Colorado. Sanderson sold his claim to J.H. Yeager in 1864, and the ditch came to be known as the Yeager ditch. Another early settler, Samuel Bingham, settled on the west slope of Bingham Hill in 1860. In 1873, Jacob Flowers arrived in the valley and set up a homestead on a parcel of land he purchased from Joseph Mason. Flowers had migrated westward from Ohio and Missouri after the Civil War and had settled temporarily in Greeley in 1872. The following year, Flowers followed the Poudre upstream and founded the town of “Bellevue” later that year (the name was later shortened). The Flowers General Store, is now the meeting house for Cache la Poudre Grange and a community center.

Ron Sladek, president of Historic Larimer County, has been working as a professional in the field of history and historic preservation since the late 1980s. He founded Tatanka Historical Associates in 1992 to focus upon providing expert consulting services in the areas of historic resources documentation, planning and education. Ron’s expertise in Western American history, historic architecture and engineering, field documentation, archival research, and historic preservation planning and analysis is utilized in all stages of every project.

Built in 1879 the Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse #7 is the only remaining stone schoolhouse in Larimer County. In 2003 Sherry Graves succeeded in having the schoolhouse added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Morning Fresh Dairy Farm is a fifth-generation dairy farm located in the beautiful

Pleasant Valley in Bellvue, Colorado. Owned and operated by the Graves family since 1894.  The dairy raises its own cows which are not injected with hormones and grows its own alfalfa without pesticides.

Meet at the Glacier View office, Gate 8 to carpool. Bring water, sunscreen, sack lunch, wear hat and good walking shoes.

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Wednesday – July 17, 2024  8:30-3:00
STOVE PRAIRIE RANCH & STOVE PRAIRIE SCHOOL

Stove Prairie Ranch and the picturesque valleys surrounding this unique property have a rich history dating back to the Ute Indians who hunted deer, elk and bison here.

In 1828, Northern Colorado’s first settlement in Laporte (French for “the door”), quickly became the gateway to the Rockies, with the trail heading west along what is now Old Flowers Road, and directly through Stove Prairie Ranch. According to legend, the name Stove Prairie was derived from several iron stoves abandoned on the prairie as pioneers realized they would have to lighten their loads in order to cross the Great

Continental Divide. In 1896, Stove Prairie Ranch was established with the first homestead and school being built on the existing property. To this day, Stove Prairie School remains as the oldest operating school house in Colorado. Over the next century, cattle & timber were the driving forces of Stove Prairie Ranch and by mid- century, its’ unique brand was widely recognized throughout these industries.

The original brand can still be found amongst some of our historic, stone buildings with burnt etchings branded into the timber walls of the cottage and a stunning impression crafted from stone within the external wall of our lower barn. In 1990, Stove Prairie Ranch was purchased by a new owner who converted the property into a world class horse-breeding facility, transforming the natural ecosystems, enhancing the pastures and refurbishing the original buildings & barns.

What stands today, is an ecological & architectural masterpiece which preserves the ranch’s history and rustic character, blended with modern, luxurious facilities and a unique location.

Stove Prairie School opened in 1896, Stove Prairie School is the oldest operating “one-room” school in Colorado. Stove Prairie joined PSD in 1960. Now one of the three mountain schools, this little school “at the end of the rainbow” offers a multi-grade learning environment.

Meet at the Glacier View office, Gate 8 to carpool. Bring water, sunscreen, sack lunch, wear hat and good walking shoes.

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Wednesday – August 21, 2024 –  – 8:30 am – 4:00 pm
UPPER POUDRE CANYON TOUR with Sandra Lundt (Case) & Sue Schneider

Poudre City is a ghost town located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northwestern Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town was founded in 1890 around a gold reducing stamp mill. The town was destroyed on June 10, 1891 when the Chambers Lake dam burst and swept down the Poudre Canyon. All that remains of the town today is the chimney from the stamp mill. In the late 1800s, it was suspected that there was gold in Larimer County and in the hills of the Poudre Canyon and many  prospectors moved to the area. John Zimmerman built a 5 stamp gold reducing stamp mill in 1890 to process the ore being brought out of the area. A saloon, general store, hotel and houses sprouted in the area surrounding the mill. Shortly after the mill’s construction, it was determined that the ore bore very little gold, and Zimmerman sold it to pursue other endeavors in the area.

The Arrowhead Lodge is now a National Historic Site and Forest Service Information Center. The struggle to preserve this Historic Site is a tribute to Dedicated Pioneer Families of the Poudre Canyon. Formerly a guest resort, this 1930s rustic and historic log building nestled in the pines is located at 7,400 feet in elevation along a Scenic Byway and nationally recognized Wild and Scenic River. The Braffords opened their business in 1936 with the Lodge, store and 5 cabins in place. In 1946, Stan and Lola Case purchased the “resort”. They added the 6th cabin, porches and dining room and modern kitchen.  Special care was given to matching the logs and architecture of the original structures. They also built the large high peaked ice house where they stored 25 tons of ice, cut off the Poudre River, usually in December, to keep food supplies cool throughout the summer.

The Upper Poudre Canyon tour cost is $40 per person but the RFHS is donating $20 of that to the cost of the tour which will benefit the Upper Poudre Canyon Association non profit organization.

Meet at the Glacier View office, Gate 8 to carpool to the Poudre Canyon meeting at Old Rustic. Bring water, sunscreen, sack lunch, wear hat and good walking shoes