The Holzwarth Historic District comprises a series of cabins built by the Holzwarth family as a guest ranch inholding within the boundaries of

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and ...

, at

Grand Lake, Colorado The Town of Grand Lake is a statutory town located in Grand County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 410 at the 2020 United States Census. History Established in 1881, Grand Lake sits at an elevation of and derives its name fro ...

. The Holzwarths made their homestead in the

Kawuneeche Valley Kawuneeche Valley, also known as Kawuneeche or Coyote Valley, is a marshy valley of the Colorado River near its beginning. It is located on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The axis of the valley runs almost directly no ...

in 1917, two years after the establishment of the park, and received a patent on the homestead in 1923. Guest ranch use began in 1919 and continued until the ranch was purchased by

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

in 1974. The property was transferred to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

in 1975 for incorporation into the park. The district comprises a number of rustic cabins on the Colorado River. Operations existed on both sides of the river, first known as the Holzwarth Trout Ranch and later as the Never Summer Ranch. All but Joe Fleshut's cabin have been removed from the east side of the river. John Holzwarth Sr. was a saloonkeeper in Denver. In 1916 Colorado enacted

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, leading Holzwarth to try homesteading at Grand River. The opening of the

Fall River Road The Old Fall River Road, sometimes referred to as "The Old Road" by park staff in Rocky Mountain National Park, was the first automobile road to penetrate the interior of the park. The road linked the east side of the park near Estes Park with Gr ...

over the mountains to

Estes Park Estes Park is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States Census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corr ...

in 1920 created an opportunity for Holzwarth to take in guests. The operation was taken over by John Holzwarth Jr., who ran it until 1973 when The Nature Conservancy bought the property. Individual cabins include the original homestead, known as the Mama Cabin, the Rose Cabin, and other service buildings and guest cabins. The Holzwarth Historic District 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 ...

on December 2, 1977.

References

External links

Holzwarth Trout Lodge, Hilltop Manor, Trail Ridge Road, Grand Lake vicinity, Grand, CO
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

Holzwarth Trout Lodge, Joe Fleshut's Cabin, Trail Ridge Road, Grand Lake vicinity, Grand, CO
at HABS
Holzwarth Trout Lodge, The Castle Cabin, Trail Ridge Road, Grand Lake vicinity, Grand, CO
at HABS
Holzwarth Trout Lodge, The Holzwarth Homestead Cabin, Trail Ridge Road, Grand Lake vicinity, Grand, CO
at HABS. Several other buildings in the complex are documented at HABS. {{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Rocky Mountain National Park Rustic architecture in Colorado Buildings and structures in Grand County, Colorado Dude ranches in the United States Historic American Buildings Survey in Colorado Ranches on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Grand County, Colorado

See also

References

External links