Manitou Cliff Dwellings facts for kids
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| Established | 1907 |
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| Location | 10 Cliff Road Manitou Springs, Colorado |
| Type | Archaeological museum |
The Manitou Cliff Dwellings are a unique tourist spot in Colorado. They feature buildings that look like ancient homes built into cliffs. These homes were inspired by the Ancestral Puebloan people. You can find them just west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in Manitou Springs.
This attraction was created using stones from an old Pueblo site in 1904. It first opened to visitors in 1907. There is also a museum here. It shows exhibits about the Ancestral Puebloan people. You can see old tools, pottery, and weapons. Some items are real artifacts, and others are copies. The dwellings were built to let more people see what ancient Pueblo homes looked like. They offered an easier way to experience this history than traveling to far-off ancient sites. Visitors can walk through the dwellings and learn about the past. However, it's important to know that the Manitou Cliff Dwellings themselves are not truly ancient.
History of the Dwellings
The Ancestral Puebloans were a group of people who lived in the Southwestern United States. They lived there from about 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1300. These people built their famous cliff dwellings in the Four Corners area. This area is where the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet. The Ancestral Puebloans did not live in the Manitou Springs area. Their real homes were hundreds of miles southwest of Manitou Springs.
The Manitou Cliff Dwellings were built in their current spot in the early 1900s. They were made to be a museum and a place for tourists to visit. Some of the stones used to build them were taken from an old Ancestral Puebloan site. This site was near Cortez in southwest Colorado. The stones were then moved by train to Manitou Springs. Workers then put them together to create buildings that look like the real cliff dwellings.
Who Built Them?
The main person behind this project was Virginia McClurg. She was the founder of the Colorado Cliff Dwelling Association. When the Manitou Cliff Dwellings opened, there was some debate. This was partly because the attraction was presented as if it were truly ancient. This debate eventually led to the end of the Colorado Cliff Dwelling Association. It also caused disagreements among experts who studied the Southwest.
A famous early expert, Edgar Lee Hewett, is often mentioned at Manitou. The attraction suggests he approved of its construction. However, Hewett was actually hesitant to say the site was real. He did not think much of these recreated buildings. Today, the McClurg family still runs the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.
Other Nearby Attractions
