The Walker Ranch is possibly the most complete historic ranch in Colorado and is part of Boulder County Parks and Open Space. It is located on Flagstaff Drive west of Boulder and is open four times a year for the public.
Events offered there demonstrate life on a ranch a century ago with butter churning, blacksmithing, laundry, log hewing, cooking, quilting, children's games and many more activities. A one-room schoolhouse is recreated for the children. As many as 35 volunteers and Boulder County Parks and Open Space employees dress in authentic costumes to bring back the old days.
Homestead: Walker Ranch.
Where: Boulder County, Flagstaff Drive.
What: Complete century-old ranch with numerous period buildings. Open to the public four times a year.
With only $12 in his pocket, James Walker arrived in the Boulder area in 1869 from his Missouri home. He was sick with consumption -- now known as tuberculosis. The dry Colorado climate and his odd jobs soon cured him.
In 1882, he homesteaded 160 acres in a high meadow near a spring at the south end of the Flagstaff Mountain ridge. The following year, Phoebe Walker and their son William moved into their new ranch house.
The Walkers called their place the South Boulder Cattle Ranch and by 1886, owned or leased 800 acres where they kept 125 head of Galloways. This Scottish breed had a tough hide and long hair well suited for the high mountain climate.
Walker, unlike his contemporaries, believed in fences rather than open range. This allowed him to survive the severe winter of 1886-87 when most open range cattle perished. In the fall, Walker had put up a sufficient amount of hay.
This was followed by his wife's extended illness, which forced Walker to sell or lease some of his land.
Good luck returned when three Englishmen approached Walker in 1894. They paid $100,000 for the mineral rights on a volcanic dyke, a formation on the south flank of Walker's property. A mill was constructed to process gold ore, but it lasted only seven years.
The money Walker received allowed him to pay off his debts and even expand the ranch.
With falling cattle prices and increased traffic on the Flagstaff Road, the Walker family elected to sell the ranch. At the time of the sale, it encompassed 6,450 acres.
In 1976, a little over 2,500 acres was purchased by Boulder County Parks and Open Space including the ranch structures. Since then, the property has grown to 3,828 acres and includes grassy meadows, fir and pine forests and plenty of wildlife all within an easy drive of the City of Boulder.
The Walker Ranch is on the National Register of Historic Places as a cultural landscape due, in part, to the integrity of its historic structures.
The log house in the center of the complex predates the Walkers and was constructed around 1865. It is made from hand-hewn logs. The builder is unknown, but it reportedly was a supply store for miners traveling to Central City.
The log house was used by the Walkers for their foreman and ranch hands.
The Walker ranch house was built during 1881-82 and occupied by the family in 1883. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire in 1992. The present structure is a reconstruction of the original house.
Also dating back to 1881-82 is the root cellar and granary. The cellar was used for the storage of vegetable storage while the upper story was used for the storage of grain.
The blacksmith shop was also constructed during this time frame. It was critical to making the hardware necessary for the ranch, which included nails, hinges, hasps and door latches. Added to these early buildings was a large barn.
The Walker Ranch is well worth visiting.
For a schedule of events, contract Boulder County Parks and Open Space at 303-678-6200 or at bouldercountyopenspace.org.
Kenneth Jessen has been a Loveland resident since 1965. He is an author of 18 books and more than 1,300 articles. He was an engineer for Hewlett-Packard for 33 years and now works as a full-time author, lecturer and guide.