It wasn’t easy farming and ranching at the foot of the Front Range in the late 1800s. Grocers, hardware shops and other mercantiles were few and far between. Ranchers didn’t run down the road for ground beef for dinner or nails to fix a fence.
The Douglas County open space officials that work at and maintain Prairie Canyon Ranch know that better than most. The 978-acre property south of Franktown not only looks but operates much as it did in the late 19th century.
Officials hope to share a slice of that sometimes challenging life this month when Prairie Canyon hosts the county’s annual Open Space Day.
Prairie Canyon Ranch got its start in 1873 as the homestead of Frederick Bartruff and his family. It supported cattle operations for well over a century until the Douglas County Division of Open Space and Natural Resources — which took ownership of the property in 1996 as one of its first large open space purchases — decided in 2012 it was time for a break. Over grazing had taxed the land.
“This property was in really rough shape,” said Johnny Mulligan, a historical restoration specialist for the county. “The pasture was beaten to a pulp.”
Last year, cows were brought back after a four-year break. Under the eyes of lessee Jamie Hull of Hay Creek Ranch, Prairie Canyon this year is home to about 50 cow-calf pairs. Utilizing a system of high-intensity, quick-rotation grazing on portions of pasture, county officials say the grazers are helping return the property to a more natural, healthy condition.
“Itap really just bringing this place back to life,” Mulligan said. “Itap just beautiful.”
And now the county wants to share the beauty of Prairie Canyon’s green, rolling meadows, cave and other natural rock features, historic stone corrals, cemetery and more. Open Space Day will be held there Aug. 19. It is set to be a barn burner (though not a literal one), with guided hikes and horse rides around the property, a concert by the Dry Creek Bluegrass Band, a barbecue, an open archery range and a birds of prey demonstration.
County staff members are excited to show off the property’s new old-time features. Michael Butterfield, a county land management specialist and ranger, will be among the county staff and volunteers running the ranch’s working forge and demonstrating blacksmithing techniques critical to the self-sufficient ranch a century ago.
Butterfield used some of those techniques to make planter hooks at the ranch last week. He’ll craft similar small items at Open Space Day so kids can watch the entire process, from raw metal to final product.
Mulligan is working with volunteers to restore an old hay wagon so visitors can ride around the property. That restoration is happening in a wood shop Mulligan and others got up and running just four months ago in a formerly cluttered garage on the ranch. It’s named Prairie Canyon Woodworks and they’re already producing benches and other items there that will be used across the county’s open space system, Mulligan said.
Volunteer Ray Bates helped set up the woodworking shop and is working on the hay wagon project.
“Itap amazing to be out there and think you’re this close to a major metropolitan area but you’re experiencing the grandeur of the county,” Bates said. His advice to potential first-time visitors: “Just take in what a great example it is of early homestead life. Just what it was like to live out there and what it took to live out there.”
Scott McEldowney is the assistant director of the open space and natural resources division. He developed the high-density, short-duration cattle grazing program that the county also is using at Spruce Mountain Open Space and other properties. He said visitors will see Prairie Canyon’s cattle on Open Space Day and there’ll be information about the grazing program. The county already uses the property to hold public education programs such as a recent “Cows Eat Weeds Workshop” that highlighted the value of using livestock as a tool to manage natural resources.
Public events are part of the overall plan for the ranch, McEldowney said. The Prairie Canyon Ranch Master Plan was adopted in March 2016. Its two main goals are to maintain the historic working cattle ranch character while developing and demonstrating innovative and sustainable agricultural practices, and to increase the opportunities for guided public access of the land through educational experiences and recreational opportunities.
“This is the gem,” McEldowney said of Prairie Canyon’s place in the county open space system. “And Open Space Day’s goal is to introduce people to the cultural and natural resources of Douglas County and the work the open space department does to make sure they continue to exist.”
If you go:
What: Douglas County Open Space Day
Where: 4620 S. Colorado 83, or about 7 miles south of Franktown off Parker Road. Main gate is on the east side of the road.
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 19
Dz:Admission is free. Guests much pre-register for hikes and guided horseback rides by Monday. (Riders must provide their own horses.)
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