Rooney Ranch is an historic
ranch
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...
near
Morrison, unincorporated
Jefferson County, Colorado
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 582,910, making it the fourth-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Golden, and the most populous city is Lakewood.
...
. Alexander Rooney came west in 1859 seeking an opportunity.
[Rooney Ranch; author unknown; National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form; United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service; Washington, D.C.; February 13, 1975]
He did a variety of work to earn his keep from stone masonry (Central City, the
Masonic Lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
), cartage of lumber and other supplies to the mining camps around
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
and
South Park, to a dairy farm. He found the high altitude uncomfortable, so he sought out winter pasture at lower elevations for his cattle. In the fall of 1861 he found what he was looking for along the eastern edge of the
hogback, between the mountains and the plains. He brought his wife, Emeline, and his family west from
Anamosa, Iowa.
[
Over the years, he acquired of land. The family used homesteading to acquire for each qualified member of the family. They also purchased military patents, State ]land grant college
A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890.
Signed by Abraha ...
lands, Union pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
lands, and property from other homesteaders. The ranch ran from the hogback on the west to the South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...
on the east, from Bear Creek on the south to Table Mountain near Golden
Golden means made of, or relating to gold.
Golden may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
*Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall
* Golden Cap, Dorset
*Golden Square, Soho, London
*Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...
on the north.[
His main earnings were from the cattle and horses he raised. He introduced ]Galloway cattle
The Galloway is a Scottish breed of beef cattle, named after the Galloway region of Scotland, where it originated during the seventeenth century.
It is usually black, is of average size, is naturally polled and has a thick coat suitable for ...
from Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. Shipped from Scotland to Missouri, he drove them overland to his ranch. The Galloway cattle provided both meat and heavy coats from their hides. He also bred Morgan horses which were sold to the United States Cavalry
The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one ...
and the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
. The family discontinued the cattle ranching in 1971.
Description
The Ranch buildings appear, externally, much as they did in 1865 when they were built. Internally, the buildings have been updated with plumbing and electricity. The buildings are in the valley between a hogback range on the west and Green Mountain on the east. A creek runs the length of ''Rooney Gulch'', and there are a mineral spring, clay pits, lime deposits, and coal deposits nearby.[ The original buildings were constructed by Alexander. Over the years, additional buildings were added by other family members, who have maintained the masonry skills.
*Main ranch house - This two-story house with a gable roof was built in 1865. It is built of native ]sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
and limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
. The walls are thick. The house is . The mortar used to bind the stones was mined on the ranch, burned in the ranch kilns and mixed with sand from the creek.
* Spring house - , has the same appearance as the house and was constructed at the same time. It houses a spring which kept dairy products at 51°.
*Rock Ranch House
*Stone house
*Barn and Tack house
*Original barn and stable yard - 1865
References
Colorado State Register of Historic Properties
{{commons Category, Rooney Ranch
External links
Official site
Buildings and structures in Jefferson County, Colorado
Ranches on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado
National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Colorado