Iconic Greenland Barn burns to the ground after lightning strike
You know it well - the big red barn easily seen on the west side of I-25 at the Greenland exit just south of Larkspur.
For most of us it harkened to simpler times, and the opportunities and hardships (including growing all their own food) the settlers of this area of Douglas County must have faced.
It was also a beacon of resiliency, until May of this year when a lightening strike burned the barn down. (See a history of the barn below).
But this piece of Douglas County history may also have a future.
Douglas County Commissioners on June 12 decided they would keep discussing and researching the possibility of rebuilding the barn, and perhaps making it accessible in some way to the public.
Read the full article here, and watch this 2-minute video about the barn. A more detailed history of Greenland Ranch is in this interesting Monument Tribune article.
For most of us it harkened to simpler times, and the opportunities and hardships (including growing all their own food) the settlers of this area of Douglas County must have faced.
It was also a beacon of resiliency, until May of this year when a lightening strike burned the barn down. (See a history of the barn below).
But this piece of Douglas County history may also have a future.
Douglas County Commissioners on June 12 decided they would keep discussing and researching the possibility of rebuilding the barn, and perhaps making it accessible in some way to the public.
Read the full article here, and watch this 2-minute video about the barn. A more detailed history of Greenland Ranch is in this interesting Monument Tribune article.
The Greenland Ranch is the longest continuously operating cattle ranch in Colorado. It was 15,000 acres, 1,600 head of cattle and 500 horses.
At one time the Higby family owned the ranch. I.J. Noe (for which Noe Road is named) and C.B. Kountz were also involved in the ranch, which at one time was called Greenland Breeding Farm.
On the property were a horse barn, blacksmith shop and residence for those who oversaw the ranch. The red barn had 17 box stalls which could accommodate 100 head of the best thoroughbreds.
Buggies and spring wagons were stored on the west side of the barn.
The original barn burned in 1922 after being was struck by lightning. A new barn was built the same year.