Denver Service Center Addresses Deferred Maintenance at Historic Peaceful Valley Ranch, Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Before and after photos of the restoration of the historic Barn at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

The Denver Service Center is working on a project to stabilize and rehabilitate the historic Peaceful Valley Ranch complex at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The $4.1 million project will address deferred maintenance issues including repair and upgrades to the structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems within the complex. The historic Ranch House, Bunkhouse and Barn will have their structures and log siding stabilized and new roofs, interior walls, and flooring will be replaced. The project will also increase visitor accessibility from the parking lot to the entire area.

The house at Peaceful Valley Ranch is the only original ranch house remaining in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Guided horseback rides were a popular activity there from 1918 to 2014. Peaceful Valley Ranch is an enduring reminder of the open range cattle ranching era of the 1880s and the golden age of dude ranches. Although several structures on the site have come and gone, and the ranch house has been expanded and renovated throughout its life, the ranch property is remarkably intact and a rare reminder of the architecture of the period in which it was built. Three of the surviving buildings, including the ranch house, are included on the National Register of Historic Places.

This project is critical to the future of Peaceful Valley Ranch and the preservation of its past. The rehabilitation project is expected to be complete this Spring 2021.