Midway House (Aspen Park, Colorado) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Midway House
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 Location in Colorado
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| Location | 9345 U.S. Route 285 |
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| Nearest city | Aspen Park, Colorado |
| Built | March–October 1889 |
| Architectural style | vernacular Queen Anne |
| NRHP reference No. | 90001479 |
| Added to NRHP | September 18, 1990 |
Midway House is an old ranch house built in 1889. It is also known as Broken M Bar Ranch or Meyer Ranch. You can find it near Aspen Park, Colorado. This special house is built in the Queen Anne style. It is so important that it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's a historic place worth protecting.
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History of Midway House
The land where Meyer Ranch now stands was first settled by the Duncan McIntyre family. This was in the mid-1800s. They built a home near the Turkey Creek wagon road. The family offered food and a place to stay for travelers.
Building the House
In 1883, Louis Ramboz bought the property. He had the Midway House built in 1889. The lumber for the house came from trees on the ranch itself. Midway House was a stop for stagecoaches. These coaches traveled between Denver and Fairplay. It was called "Midway" because it was about halfway between Denver and Bailey.
Circus Stories
There are stories that the ranch was once a winter home for animals. These animals supposedly belonged to the P.T. Barnum Circus. This would have been in the late 1880s. However, there are no official records of P.T. Barnum ever visiting Colorado. A wooden board was found in the house during a renovation in 1955. It had "Circus Town 1889" written on it.
From Ranch to Ski Area
After Louis Ramboz, Ralph Kirkpatrick owned the ranch from 1912 to 1950. He ran it as a working ranch. In the early 1940s, he cleared a hillside for skiing. Skiers would ride horse-drawn sleighs from the road. They would go to the bottom of a single rope tow. This ski area was called Mount Lugo. It closed in 1942. But even today, people still enjoy cross-country and backcountry skiing on the hills at Meyer Ranch.
Meyer Family and Public Park
In 1950, Norman and Ethel Meyer bought the ranch, including Midway House. They later bought the McIntyre family's original homestead in 1959. In 1987, the Meyers sold 400 acres (about 1.6 square kilometers) of their 600-acre (about 2.4 square kilometers) ranch. They sold it to Jefferson County Open Space. This area opened to the public as Meyer Ranch Park in 1989. The Midway House itself is still owned by the Meyer family.
Midway House on TV
The Midway House property was featured on a TV show. It appeared on the pilot episode of the History Channel series Mega Movers. This episode first aired on April 27, 2005. It was part of the Modern Marvels show. The episode showed how a cabin and an old barn were moved closer to the ranch house.
