The Poncha Springs Schoolhouse, at 330 Burnett St. near

Poncha Springs, Colorado Poncha Springs is a Statutory Town in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 737 at the 2010 census. History The first human inhabitants of the Poncha Springs area were Ute people, who used the region as camping grounds dur ...

Chaffee County, Colorado Chaffee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,476. The county seat is Salida. History Chaffee County has a confusing origin. Between February 8 and February 10, 1879, Carbonate ...

, was built in

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style during 1881–83. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1990. It was then the Poncha Springs Town Hall and Museum. It is a two-story building, T-shaped in plan, built of masonry with prominent

quoins Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...

and a "belvedere style"

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

/ bell tower. In 1990, the original bell was stored in the basement. With It was deemed a "town landmark" and significant "for its excellent representation of the Italianate style of architecture that is used in many masonry buildings in Chaffee County." In 2021 it continues to hold the town hall and a museum.

References

City and town halls in Colorado History museums in Colorado Schools in Chaffee County, Colorado City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Chaffee County, Colorado School buildings completed in 1883 School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado {{Colorado-NRHP-stub