JEFFERSON COUNTY — Sitting on the north side of Ken-Caryl Ranch, an old house is a shell of its former self. The stone walls surround what once was a family home along a toll road that took miners into the foothills during the gold rush of the 1860s.
Now, the walls encase a dirt floor with nothing inside except a story.
The Bradford-Perley House almost didn’t survive a 1967 fire that took nearly everything but the stone walls. It’s changed hands many times since Robert Boyles Bradford built the home more than 150 years ago, but thanks to the efforts of those in the Ken-Caryl Ranch Historical Society, the home is preserved as a ruin and, earlier this year, was listed on the .
The property — which also includes an apple orchard and old well nearby — is now owned by the Ken-Caryl Ranch Master Association.
“It was kind of on its last legs, but they had a vision,” said Rose Lewis, president of the Ken-Caryl Ranch Historical Society.
Nearly 20 years ago, not much had changed since the house near what is now Killdeer Lane had burned. But the small group of residents in the historical society got the house listed on the and worked to secure funding to stabilize the structure.
In 2002, the house was listed as one of the state’s most endangered places by Colorado Preservation Inc. and moved to the list of saved properties in 2006.
Since 2006, the house has become an educational center and a common destination for school groups and archaeology students. Inside the shell of the house are signs that describe the history of the property from when it was built by Bradford, its use as a Civil War recruiting station for the Union Army and its sale to second owner James Adams Perley, whose family was likely the last to live in the home full time.
“It ties together pioneer history,” Lewis said.
When it was listed as endangered by Colorado Preservation Inc. for four years, that allowed the historical society and Colorado Preservation to raise funds to help with stabilization.
While the site is somewhat nontraditional — since it will remain as a ruin — it’s still been one of the success stories for Colorado Preservation and can serve as a guide for some other properties on the endangered list.
“Even though it was a ruin, it still was important to community and still had a story to tell,” said Jennifer Orrigo Charles, endangered places director at Colorado Preservation Inc. “It’s a significant site we wanted to get involved in.”
Colorado Preservation Inc. has 106 sites listed as endangered. Thirty-six of them, including the Bradford-Perley House, are listed as saved and six have been lost. Properties can be removed from the saved list if a situation changes.
Gaining placement on the National Register of Historic Places in February further cemented the status of the site. To get on the list, an application was submitted with the help of History Colorado last year.
The listing doesn’t further restrict the land in any way nor offer it any more protection from future development should anything arise, but it’s an honor nonetheless.
“It’s really, first and foremost, an honorary designation,” said Erika Warzel, national and state register historian for History Colorado. “It can unlock access to incentives for owners to further preserve the property through the State Historical Fund grant.”
Both Orrigo Charles and Warzel noted the strong community effort in this situation and said that is key to bringing awareness and possibly saving any property that has historical significance.
“It’s a tremendous effort on the community’s part,” Warzel said. “It’s something we often see because it’s what’s needed.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or @joe_vacc
