Roxborough State Park Archaeological District

Title

Roxborough State Park Archaeological District

Artist

Jon Burch Photography

Medium

Photograph - Digital Capture & Enhancement

Description

Roxborough State Park is a state park of Colorado, United States, known for dramatic red sandstone formations.

The Roxborough State Park Archaeological District contains one historic homestead and a variety of prehistoric rock shelters and campsites dating back to at least the Early Archaic period (5500–3000 BCE). It is located at the southern end of the valley between the hogback ridge and the foothills, about twenty-five miles southwest of Denver. The Denver chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society performed a survey of the district in 1977–78, after the establishment of Roxborough State Park

When members of Stephen Long’s expedition arrived at the mouth of South Platte Canyon on July 6, 1820, they saw “a range of naked and almost perpendicular rocks rising abruptly to a height of 150 to 200 feet.” Those rocks were the Fountain formation outcrops in what is now Roxborough State Park in Douglas County. Frederick Hayden’s team surveyed the area in the 1870's, and homesteaders in the 1880's called the area “Washington Park” because one of the large outcrops resembled the profile of George Washington.

In 1889 Henry S. Persse acquired land from homesteader Edward McKenzie Griffith. Persse probably renamed the area “Roxborough” after the part of Ireland from which his family had emigrated. In 1902 he formed the Roxborough Land Company and began to buy more land, with the goal of developing the area into a high-class resort. That never happened, but Persse’s land did become a day-trip destination for Denver friends, including mayors Robert Speer and Benjamin Stapleton.

In the 1920's, the Persses sold their Roxborough land to the Helmer family, which had been farming and ranching adjacent land east of the hogback and north of Roxborough since 1880. The area continued to be used for ranching for another fifty years. The remains of Persse Place include a stone house, a log barn, two log sheds, and the foundation of a bunkhouse.

In 1975 the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, now Colorado Parks and Wildlife, bought 500 acres of land in the area to establish Roxborough State Park. By that time, excavations at Magic Mountain, LoDaisKa, and Ken-Caryl South Valley had showed that the hogback valley was a popular spot for prehistoric occupations in the Archaic and Ceramic periods because of its mild climate, large rock outcrops, diverse plant and animal resources, and convenient location between the mountains and the plains.

Some digital effects were applied to this original image after the photograph was made. No electrons were harmed during the transition. Ordered images will not contain the FAA watermark.

Image copyright 2019 by Jon Burch Photography.

Uploaded

August 17th, 2019

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