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Historical Markers and War Memorials in Montezuma County
Cortez is the county seat for Montezuma County
Adjacent to Montezuma County, Colorado
Dolores County(12) ► La Plata County(65) ► San Juan County(54) ► Apache County, Arizona(70) ► San Juan County, New Mexico(37) ► San Juan County, Utah(83) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
This building was originally constructed in 1900.
The most notable occupant at this site was the Belmont Bar, a rough and raucous local drinking establishment during the 1950s and '60s.
The 1930s storefront is of an "art deco . . . — — Map (db m153363) HM
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument encompasses 164,000 acres of southwest Colorado. It was established on June 9, 2000, to protect the cultural and natural resources of the canyons and mesas.
For hundreds of years, the canyons and . . . — — Map (db m160230) HM
Originally the site of the Charles Duff Mercantile (circa 1889), was a pioneer Cortez commercial establishment and one of Cortez' first mercantile stores.
This southwest corner of Main and Market Streets has long been an important part of . . . — — Map (db m153372) HM
Around the turn of the century, this corner was a popular downtown hitching rail, a place where business patrons tied up their horses.
One of the earliest buildings on the property was the Herman building which stood near . . . — — Map (db m160166) HM
Colorado Territory was created in 1861 for its gold, silver and other mineral resources. Its western boundary was designated as 32 degrees of longitude west of the Washington Meridian.
Colorado became a state in 1876. In 1878, U.S. Surveyor . . . — — Map (db m36527) HM
The original building on this site was built for Dr. G.H. Harrington in 1886. After the wood frame one-story building was destroyed in the Clinton Hotel Fire in 1907, the existing two-story sandstone building was constructed and served as the U.S. . . . — — Map (db m153365) HM
Originally constructed in 1909 by Pete Baxstrom using rock quarried from the Baxstrom quarry, the Calkins building was built in three separate phases.
An addition to the building shown in the photograph was added in 1923 and the final addition to . . . — — Map (db m153373) HM
Originally the site of the Clark Mercantile (1890), this building has served a variety of downtown business functions over the past century.
Mary Bensey and her three daughters ran a laundry on the lower level and rented the rooms upstairs during . . . — — Map (db m153357) HM
Constructed in 1909 by the E. R. Lamb family, this building first housed E. R. Lamb Mercantile.
The store was advertised "as replete with a full line of furniture, general merchandise,
millinery, drugs, paints, oils, and building . . . — — Map (db m153371) HM
Community Connections
Welcome to the Four Corners! As you explore this area and visit the National Parks, Monuments, and National Forest lands or drive on the San Juan Skyway, you will be traveling through a number of communities... . . . — — Map (db m160181) HM
Starting in the 1880's, construction of the original irrigation canals and lateral ditches was done by hand using teams of horses and mules. Equipment was simple and crude by today's standards, consisting of horse drawn graders, scrapers and hand . . . — — Map (db m153384) HM
The Montezuma Valley Journal is the oldest continuous business in Montezuma County.
On April 28, 1888, four years prior to the town's incorporation, John Curry from
Telluride began publication of the Montezuma Journal through various owners, . . . — — Map (db m153358) HM
The original building at this location, constructed about 1890, was the residence of W.G. Clucas, Town Marshal of Cortez from 1910 to 1920.
During the 1920s, J.A. McCabe operated a store in the building from which he sold . . . — — Map (db m160169) HM
Lumber and hardware businesses have operated at this location since the early 1900s.
The outbuildings and frame construction buildings in back of the main structure were built around 1900. The front portion of the building was constructed of . . . — — Map (db m153362) HM
Originally located one block to the south on the corner of First and Chestnut Streets, the Montezuma County Court House was constructed on this site in 1937.
The designation of Cortez as the County Seat reflected the vision of our pioneer leaders . . . — — Map (db m154905) HM
Built in 1884, this is one of the earliest commercial buildings in downtown Cortez.
Prior to the turn of the 20th century, this building was home to the First National Bank of Cortez. A walk-in vault that is still in place today was installed . . . — — Map (db m153359) HM
The first Cortez bank, the Montezuma Valley National Bank was constructed in 1908.
The building in constructed of native sandstone in a vernacular, commercial architectural theme with
Classical Greek Revival details. Like the Stone Block . . . — — Map (db m153364) HM
One of the first businesses located on this site was the Hi-way Station, a gas station, grocery and small trailer park owned by the Charlie Bowers family.
Bowers sold the property to the McGee family. The existing building was . . . — — Map (db m153356) HM
The original site of Nu-Way Western Wear (circa 1928) was a building used as a saddle, tack and harness shop.
The small shop also included a boot and shoe repair space. The owners expanded the building and opened a full-service shoe store that . . . — — Map (db m153361) HM
The building was built by the Anna and T. Gai family in 1953 and housed the local J.C. Penney's store from 1953 until the late 1980s.
The building is representative of the 1950's chain store prototype using modern extruded aluminum storefront . . . — — Map (db m153367) HM
In 1933 or '34, Frank McNeill purchased the Owl Cafι from Dr. Johnson, who owned the building, and Mike Spyres, who ran the restaurant.
McNeill received one of the first liquor licenses in the state of Colorado after
prohibition was repealed, . . . — — Map (db m153375) HM
The McElmo Creek Flume was in use from the 1890s to the 1990s, carrying water for over a
hundred years. After it was abandoned, it remained in good condition until 2006, when a
flash flood carried debris into the trough and damaged the wooden top. . . . — — Map (db m153382) HM
The original 80-acre Soldier's Homestead, located in La Plata County, was conveyed by the United States to Algernon S. Dutton in December, 1886.
After Monteruma County was formed in 1889, portions of the land were sold. Block 28 of the original . . . — — Map (db m153370) HM
For more than 12,000 years, Native American people have inhabited this area. As the Ice Age ended, these nomadic people hunted bison and mastodons in the valleys, and gathered plants along the edges of glacial lakes and wetlands. . . . — — Map (db m160236) HM
In honor and memory
of all men and women
who served in the
Armed Forces of the
United States of America
[State Seals of the]
Four Corners U.S.A.
Dedicated July 4, 1991 — — Map (db m160176) WM
The McElmo Creek Flume No. 6 is the last remaining example of 104 Wooden Flumes used to convey water diverted from the Dolores River to irrigate croplands and provide domestic water to the greater Montezuma Valley.
Cortez, Montezuma County and . . . — — Map (db m153387) HM
Over the last 150 years, technology to store water and deliver it to local farmland has continually changed and improved. Increasing efficiency, reducing salinity, applying water to uneven or elevated areas, and automating systems are among the . . . — — Map (db m153388) HM
Welcome to Cortez, Colorado, and the San Juan Skyway — a 232-mile loop drive that will take you into the heart of the San Juan Mountains on state-maintained, paved highways.
The San Juan Skyway was designated a Forest Service Scenic . . . — — Map (db m160180) HM
A symbol of the commercial stability of Cortez over the past century, the Stone Block
Building was constructed in 1889 by the Baxstrom brothers from stone quarried west
of Cortez in Hartman Draw.
The building stood idle for several years and . . . — — Map (db m153368) HM
The yucca-fiber sandals of Ancestral Puebloans, the leather sandals of Franciscan priests, work boots of ranchers and lumbermen, the rubber tires of wheelchairs, and the nylon and leather shoes of visitors today have traversed the landscape of . . . — — Map (db m290395) HM
During the late 1870s, the ranching community of Big Bend was founded at the bend in the river valley to your right. Even in its heyday, only about 100 people lived in the community. Despite its meager population, Big Bend boasted a blacksmith . . . — — Map (db m290597) HM
In 1776 the year of our independence, a family was led by two Catholic priests, father Dominguez and Escalante. They camped in a meadow on the Dolores River which in 105 years became the town of Big Bend.
Big Bend had several saloons, a saw mill, a . . . — — Map (db m52402) HM
Sagebrush is one of the most common shrubs in the high desert of the southwest. Preferring dry, rocky areas, big sagebrush grows in elevations up to 7,500 feet. Homesteaders learned that big sagebrush grew noticeably taller where soils were deeper . . . — — Map (db m290499) HM
Dolores Established in 1892 with the coming of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, Dolores started out as a railroad town. In the 1930s, the RGS's answer to cutting operating costs was the Galloping Goose. The Goose was a gas-powered vehicle that . . . — — Map (db m290596) HM
Small homes like Dominguez are common in southwest Colorado. Dominguez has three rooms and an earth-walled kiva. It is in an ideal location with southern exposure and good farmland and is close to the Dolores River. Dominguez Pueblo's construction . . . — — Map (db m290396) HM
At the ruin, there is, as is the case at many of these sites, a sense of tranquility which I cannot explain. This cluster of mounds seems to gather the surrounding landscape around itself in such a way as to become the center of that circle of . . . — — Map (db m290589) HM
To the Franciscan explorers, water, farmland and timber resources were important ingredients for a successful settlement. These resources were just as important to the Pueblo people living here since before AD 700. Villages and small field houses . . . — — Map (db m290496) HM
Otto Mears, Pathfinder of the San Juans, constructed the 162-mile Rio Grande Southern Railroad (narrow gauge) in 1890-91, between Ridgway and Durango, by way of Placerville, Rico, Dolores (a railroad town founded by the R.G.S.), and Mancos, . . . — — Map (db m283599) HM
The RGS Motor No. 5 was built in 1933 in the railroad's roundhouse in Ridgway, Colorado. Its front cab was a 1927 Pierce Arrow series 36 limousine widened to carry the motorman and passengers. The rear 24-foot trailer carried mail and freight. It . . . — — Map (db m283699) HM
Gambel oak is a shrub which grows up to 15 feet tall. The acorns are a favorite food for chipmunks. Acorns ripen in the fall and must be leached to remove the bitterness before eating. The hard wood has been used as fuel since prehistoric times. . . . — — Map (db m290482) HM
Sleeping Ute Mountain, Colorado The Sleeping Ute is surrounded by the 550,000 acre Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. McElmo Canyon, Colorado and Utah This canyon has been the main travel route between the Montezuma Valley and southeast Utah . . . — — Map (db m290495) HM
A common grass throughout lower elevations of the Colorado Plateau, ricegrass is easily identifiable by its lacy appearance. Ricegrass seeds ripen in late summer and provide valuable winter food for birds and rodents. Seeds were gathered by . . . — — Map (db m290398) HM
Although there are several species of juniper, the Utah juniper growing here is the most common species in southwest Colorado. Junipers can grow to 25 feet tall and may live for several hundred years. Junipers and piρon pines form dense forests in . . . — — Map (db m290497) HM
La Plata Mountains Plata means silver, but the silver and gold mines established in the mid-1800s never produced the wealth hoped for by prospectors. Mancos Hill The Rio Grande Southern Railroad crossed this gap on its run from . . . — — Map (db m290592) HM
Mountain mahogany is best identified by its leaves, which are toothed, oval-shaped and fuzzy. The seeds are attached to unique spiral, feathery "tails". This plant grows on dry, rocky slopes at elevations from 3,000 to 9,500 feet. It is an . . . — — Map (db m290488) HM
The piρon pine is the smallest member of the pine family and requires the least amount of moisture. Although the nut crop is unpredictable, the piρon has always been a grocery tree to people of the southwest. It provides food, medicine and . . . — — Map (db m290498) HM
Prickly pear cactus is found throughout the southwest. Its showy flowers may be yellow, pink, purple or red. The edible fruit ripens in late summer. Despite formidable spines, the pads and fruit have been eaten since prehistoric times. Ancestral . . . — — Map (db m290594) HM
Rabbitbrush is a native shrub that commonly grows thickest along roadsides and in disturbed areas between 2,000 and 8,000 feet. The small flowers bloom in dense masses in late summer, covering the bush in a cloud of golden yellow. Rabbitbrush . . . — — Map (db m290588) HM
When Fathers Dominguez and Escalante headed northwest toward the Dolores River on August 12, 1776, they had none of the advantages of high-speed travel, good roads, relative security of life and limb, which are taken so much for granted today. They . . . — — Map (db m283794) HM
The pungent smell of the leaves gives this plant its common name. Ripe red berries make a tart lemon-tasting drink when mixed with water, providing another common name of lemonade-bush. Sumac branches (K' ii') are used for basketmaking. As . . . — — Map (db m290399) HM
On July 29, 1776, a few weeks after the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia, ten explorers left the Spanish colonial capital of Santa Fe and headed northwest into unfamiliar territory. Led by Father Francisco Silvestre Velez de . . . — — Map (db m290591) HM
During their two day encampment along the Dolores River, members of the Dominguez-Escalante expedition visited prehistoric ruins on the hills west of the river. Today, the Escalante Ruins are excavated and open for public viewing. They are a . . . — — Map (db m283796) HM
This hilltop is a magnificent location. The striking view encompasses 360 degrees of landscape critical to understanding the people in the past, present and future. This is a place of microclimates within climates. The land plunges from . . . — — Map (db m290593) HM
In the very old days, Sleeping Ute Mountain was a great warrior god. He fought against Evil Ones who were causing much trouble. During a battle between the Warrior God and the Evil Ones, the Warrior God was hurt. He lay down to rest and fell . . . — — Map (db m290490) HM
These people had no written history; theirs was an oral system of maintaining the records of ages.... In the mind's eye one sees the elders speak, their eyes alight, their gestures emphasizing or elaborating a point, as they reveal the ancient . . . — — Map (db m290590) HM
Birds like the magpie, hawk and eagle are commonly seen overhead. Pueblo groups revere them as messengers between the sky beings and the people of the earth. Their feathers are worn as symbols of rank on ceremonial masks and costumes. According . . . — — Map (db m290595) HM
Various species of yucca are found in the southwest. This broad-leaved variety is known as banana yucca. The cream-colored flowers on a single flower stalk give way to edible green fruit in the summer. Ancestral Puebloans separated the yucca's . . . — — Map (db m290397) HM
With thanks and appreciation to Pete and Yvonne Doerfer for loaning the following items:
For display only - please do not climb on this equipment.
1892 Horse-Drawn Pull Grader
J.D. Adams invented the first successful . . . — — Map (db m122034) HM
Restored by Charlie Mitchell 1998 In grateful recognition for outstanding effort and dedication to this restoration project Architect, Michael Bell, Durango Bldg. Preparation, Shane Jarboe, Mancos Bldg. Preparation, Daniel Towne, Mancos . . . — — Map (db m289196) HM
"Chiseled from Mancos Hill, George Bauer began to construct his home in June, 1889.
The home was finished in December, 1890. Many Mancos residents pitched in to help
with construction; however, the masonry was hand hewn by George.
George Bauer . . . — — Map (db m153406) HM
"All Gave Some"...
"Some Gave All"...
None Sacrificed Honor...
On behalf of all veterans and their families, this memorial is hereby dedicated in service to Community, State and Nation by the members of John Derrick Halls Post #5231, . . . — — Map (db m207343) WM
Sleeping Ute Mountain
Sprawling ten miles across the highlands west of here, Sleeping Ute Mountain comprises no fewer than seven separate peaks — and at least as many legends. According to one, the mountain took shape eons ago when a . . . — — Map (db m153394) HM
Ancient Valley Cultures
Their homes may now be less visible than the cliff dwellings of their Mesa Verde neighbors, but the ancient farmers of southwestern Colorado were far more numerous. By the twelfth century perhaps 12,000 people tilled . . . — — Map (db m153392) HM
The history of agriculture in the Four Corners includes fruit production going back to Indigenous cultures. When a new wave of settlers arrived in the late 1800s, they brought with them apple trees that were nurtured to become productive orchards. . . . — — Map (db m289099) HM
Entered on the National Register
of Historic Places, the Mancos High
School building was constructed
in 1909. It is the oldest high school
in continuous use in the state of
Colorado. — — Map (db m153405) HM
Has been placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
by the United states Department of the Interior
January 9, 1988.
Placed on the
State Register
of Historic Places
January 27, 1988.
This plaque was purchased . . . — — Map (db m121094) HM
Clockwise, from top left:
Six ancestral Puebloan villages dating to around A.D. 1200 can be visited at Hovenweep National Monument although only Square Tower Sites are easily reached. The other sites are more remote and are not . . . — — Map (db m153391) HM
Dryland Farming
The first workable system for farming Colorado's dry southwestern plateau emerged near here some 2,000 years ago. Over the next twelve centuries, ancient farmers gradually developed a series of techniques — water storage, . . . — — Map (db m153389) HM
As legend has it, The Columbine Bar was established in 1910, and continues to be one of the oldest operating bars in Colorado. In 1948 it was described in the Mancos Times as "an old bar run by old timers." It has always had a rather notorious . . . — — Map (db m121092) HM
Following the lead of Benjamin Franklin, newspapers swept west with the settlers. Originally only affordable to the affluent, newspapers became accessible to the masses with the introduction of high-speed letterpresses and cheaper newsprint. Most . . . — — Map (db m289773) HM
Surrounded by deep canyons, villages here seem isolated, cut off from people on other mesas. Look closely at these cliffs and imagine hand and toe trails pecked into the sheer sandstone. These vertical trails were the Anasazis highways; steep . . . — — Map (db m71206) HM
Adapting to Alcoves To level the sloping alcove floor, the Anasazi filled in behind retaining walls. The altered floor not only supported rooms but also provided working space and a safe play area for children.
Oak Tree House appears to . . . — — Map (db m71209) HM
There is an enormous gap between identifying pithouse features—the hollows and scattered stones—and visualizing the inhabitants daily lives. Set in the four corner post holes, timbers supported a ceiling that was probably head-high. . . . — — Map (db m71203) HM
Mesa-top and Alcove Living Although the Puebloan used the cliff alcoves throughout the entire time they lived in Mesa Verde, the cliff dwellings themselves were not built until the final 75-100 years of occupation. For over 600 years these . . . — — Map (db m71207) HM
The rocks that house Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings have their own stories to tell.
Deposition
During the late Cretasceous period (about 90 million years ago) much of North America, including southwest Colorado and the present Rocky . . . — — Map (db m71530)
There are about 600 alcove sites in Mesa Verde National Park. About 90 percent contain fewer than 11 rooms. At least one-third are simply one room structures, probably storage rooms for a nearby cliff dwelling. There are only about a dozen cliff . . . — — Map (db m153353) HM
Imagine this mesa top in A.D. 1150 with fields of corn, beans, and squash; supplemented with wild plants such as amaranth, tubers, and sunflowers. Children could be seen watering corn with clay water jars (ollas), and young men could be seen cutting . . . — — Map (db m71901) HM
Dance Plaza
Though the large alcove below is filled with Puebloan construction, there is no evidence of any habitation. The central pit – too large for domestic cook fires – held layer upon layer of ashes. Fire Temples size . . . — — Map (db m72559) HM
The cliff dwelling across the canyon is named for Mary Tileston Hemenway who funded the first scientific archaeological expedition in the southwest. At the time cultural objects were often removed for souvenirs or profit. Hemenway's support provided . . . — — Map (db m153346) HM
Creative inspiration
The Ancestral Puebloans may have worked hard to survive here, but their lives were adorned with beauty and creativity. Intricately woven baskets, ornately decorated
pottery, and colorfully plastered interiors speak of . . . — — Map (db m153344) HM
A traveler in 1892 described a trail on the ridge before you as the Crinkly Edge Trail. In 1911, just five years after the park was established, the trail became the Knife Edge Road, a new section of the main park road. Although scenic, the road was . . . — — Map (db m153342) HM
The town of Mancos, in the valley before you, historically served as the "Gateway to Mesa Verde."
As word spread of the Wetherills' "discoveries," tourists flocked to the area. The Rio Grande Southern Railroad, serving Durano, Mancos, and . . . — — Map (db m71529) HM
Montezuma Valley (below you) and Mesa Verde (where you now stand) were once part of the Ancestral Pueblo homeland. Between 600 and 1280 CE*, hundreds of villages and farming communities thrived on the mesas, plateaus, and canyons that form this . . . — — Map (db m153343) HM
As you travel about Mesa Verde look for seep springs — ready sources of fresh water for the Ancestral Puebloans.
Where is the Water?
Moisture, in the form of rainfall or snowmelt, percolates through porous sandstone layers until it . . . — — Map (db m71531)
Although silent today, Cliff Palace is a reflective reminder of a people who settled
among these cliffs, canyons, and mesa tops for a time, and then migrated to establish
new communities and neighborhoods further south. Here, for 700 years, they . . . — — Map (db m153355) HM
You are standing in the middle of what once was a medium-sized pueblo village and one of the last mesa top pueblos built on Mesa Verde. The tower and kiva, protected today by the shelter, were central to the community and were surrounded by at least . . . — — Map (db m153349) HM
The move to the alcoves began around 1200 CE and by mid-century, there were more than 30 cliff dwellings in the Cliff and Fewkes Canyon neighborhood. Several are visible from here. Imagine these canyons filled with the sights and sounds of a . . . — — Map (db m153352) HM
Children born in one of these cliff dwellings in 1225 CE experienced many changes in
their lifetime. Over the course of roughly 75 years, they and their families witnessed the migration from mesa top villages into alcove communities; a significant . . . — — Map (db m153350) HM
Great Kiva activities helped to define the community and to develop a sense of social identity and, perhaps, of organized community religion. People who lived near Great Kivas may have organized seasonal events and maintained the Great Kivas for . . . — — Map (db m283799) HM
The changing floor plans shown record growth stages in the pueblo. The first kiva and four-room core expanded to a 40-room building in about one generation (AD 1085-1105). In 1936, archaeologist Paul S. Martin envisioned "frenzied and exuberant . . . — — Map (db m290696) HM
The Great Sage Plain, extending from southwest Colorado into southeast Utah, is covered with ancient villages, and was the most densely settled region of the Ancestral Puebloan world between AD 500 and 1300. More than just islands of architecture, . . . — — Map (db m290691) HM
Throughout most of the year, the open space to the east of the main building likely functioned as a village square or plaza. Imagine elders sharing their history through stories and songs, or talking about politics. Cooking, tool making, laughing, . . . — — Map (db m290687) HM
105 entries matched your criteria. The first 100 are listed above. The final 5 ⊳
