Evans–Elbert Ranch, also called the Elbert-Austin Ranch, was built as a 300-acre family retreat and ranch in Upper Bear Creek near

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

Clear Creek County, Colorado Clear Creek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,397. The county seat is Georgetown. History Clear Creek County was one of the original 17 counties created by the Colorado le ...

by John Evans, Colorado's second

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. Covering most of Corral Creek, Metz, and Vance valleys, it was a mountain cattle ranch. In 1868, Evans and his son-in-law

Samuel Hitt Elbert Samuel Hitt Elbert (April 3, 1833 – November 27, 1899) was an attorney in the Nebraska Territory before settling in the Colorado Territory. He served as the second Secretary of the Territory of Colorado from 1862 to 1866 and he served as the ...

, who also became a Territorial governor, purchased more than 300 acres from John Vance, a homesteader. They became interested in the area after they took a camping trip in the Upper Bear Creek area and enjoyed the views, timber, grass, and game. It was called Kuhlborne Ranch by the family. They built a large rustic house called the cottage. There was a house on the property that was inhabited by the ranch foreman. Over time, more land was purchased and the ranch grew to several thousand acres. During the summer, the Evans family used the ranch to enjoy the valleys and mountains and to escape the heat of Denver. Anne, the youngest child of John Evans, led the ranch's development after Samuel Elbert and John Evans died in the late 1890s. In 1908, Louise Elbert Everett, Samuel Elbert's niece, purchased much of the ranch land. A rustic-style residence made of stone and logs, designed by architect J. Christopher Jensen, was built for her in 1908. The house was built by a local contractor, Jock Spence. In 1911, Anne Evans built the

Anne Evans Mountain Home Anne Evans Mountain Home is a cabin that was built near Evergreen, Colorado by Anne Evans on the Evans–Elbert Ranch with a view of the Rocky Mountains. It is located in at an elevation of about 8,200 feet the Upper Bear Creek watershed in east ...

for herself.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Houses completed in 1911 National Register of Historic Places in Clear Creek County, Colorado Buildings and structures in Clear Creek County, Colorado Governor of Colorado