31-Mile Ranch
Guffey Vicinity, Park County, Colorado
SHF Project #00-02-011
Barbara Glace Monel, socialite daughter
of a wealthy easterner, bought the Greenhorn Mountain Ranch
in 1925, renaming it 31-Mile Ranch. She developed the operation
into a thriving business of raising draft and show horses.
The large Gambrel-roofed barn, built following Ms. Monel's
purchase, is very elaborate for the inter-war period in this
area of Park County, when most ranchers of the era could not
afford such an investment. The windmill served the 1920s ranch
house that burned in the 1950s. Oral histories relate that
it pumped water to a tank in the attic of the house, providing
pressurized water to the interior. It is one of the few in
Park County that remain potentially operable.
Mr. R.W. "Curley" Reynolds (pictured below with Kathie
Moore, of the Park County Historical Society) acquired the
property through a land swap with the Bureau of Land Management
in late 1999, and upon receiving a grant from the SHF in 2000
(and providing a 50% cash match), personally undertook a majority
of the repair and restoration work on the barn, the windmill,
and log cabin. The exterior cladding of the barn was repaired,
new wood shingles were installed on the barn and cabin, the
ground around the barn and cabin was regraded for positive
drainage, and the windmill was repaired by selectively replacing
a minimum of original materials. The Park County Historical
Society donated considerable time and effort to this project
as well.
Schools in surrounding counties have visited the 31-Mile Ranch on
field trips for many years. It is used extensively by the
Guffey Charter School as a learning experience for its students,
and every seventh grade student from the Fremont RE-1 school
district visits the ranch annually. Mr. Reynolds continues
to allow access to the ranch buildings for these and other
educational and interpretive experiences.
For additional information about this
project please contact the State Historical Fund at 303.866.2825.
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