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Photo, Print, Drawing Pinon Canyon, Purgatoire River Area, Model, Las Animas County, CO Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site

[ Drawings from Survey HABS CO-96  ]

More Resources

[ Data Pages from Survey HABS CO-96  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Pinon Canyon, Purgatoire River Area, Model, Las Animas County, CO

Other Title

  • Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Narvaez, Alfonso, project manager
  • Duran, Jim, field team
  • Kirkpatrick, John H., field team
  • Miller, Eric E., field team
  • McFadden, Michelle, historian
  • Wiatr, Al, historian
  • Shiipley, Carl F., Jr., delineator
  • Lyons, Samuel A., delineator
  • Thallheimer, Arnold, photographer
  • U.S. National Park Service, Rocky Mountain Regional Office, sponsor
  • U.S. Department of the Army, sponsor

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  cattle ranches
  • -  military facilities
  • -  sheep ranches
  • -  adobe buildings
  • -  log buildings
  • -  stone buildings
  • -  homesteading
  • -  agriculture
  • -  jacal construction
  • -  gable roofs
  • -  immigrants
  • -  Hispanic Heritage
  • -  domestic life
  • -  women
  • -  Colorado--Las Animas County--Model

Notes

  • -  Significance: The history of settlement of the Pinon Canyon area in southeastern Colorado can be considered a microcosm of settlement in the American West. Pinon Canyon area saw traders and trappers, Indian removal, mining, cattle drives, stage lines, the coming of the railroads, open range ranching, conflicts between sheep and cattlemen, homesteaders and a compromise between land users and the land. The seven historic homestead located within the Pinon Canyon area physically represent one of Colorado's last agricultural frontiers. Determined settlers built these homesteads following long-established architectural traditions which can be traced back to their homelands in northern New Mexico and to the high plains. Nature, as well as culture, played a large part in the construction of these homes and ranches. The architecture of these 7 homesteads shows how both nature and culture subtly shaped the built environment of the semi-arid Pinon Canyon area of Las Animas County, Colorado. Bordered on the east by the Purgatoire River, the 380 square mile region encompasses seeral different geographical features. Steep arroyos and canyons cut across the prairie and drain into the river. To the south, a nine-mile long upthrust of basalt, known as the hogback, rises dramatically from the plains. The west and north borders have hills, covered with pinon pine. Juniper, cholla and prickly pear cactus, and grasses cover the prairie. Building materials gathered locally include sandstone, pinon pine logs, and adobe mixed from the clay. The homesteads of these settlers illustrate regional variations in vernacular architecture, buildings constructed of necessity with little or no concern for current stylistic fashions. Few, if any, examples of rural domestic architecture in this corner of Colorado show detailing and morphology influenced by national trends. Most intriguing in the Pinon Canyon area is the blending of several cultural traditions, creating a landscape representative of the many different peoples who settled the area. The ranches which remain characterize the convergence of the Hispanic building tradition with that of the plains. Hispanic settlers, emigrating from northern New Mexico, entered the area as early as 1867. Homesteading continued, however, well into the 20th century. The majority of these first immigrants formed clustered, placita-type settlements oriented toward the raising of sheep and truck gardens along the Purgatoire River. Most settled in the northern portion of the Pinon Canyon area beside the river from Lockwood Arroyo to Minnie Canyon. The 1880 census indicated that 64 percent of the adult residing in this area came from New Mexico. The conservative cultural landscape that they sought to recreate illustrated their close relationship to the land and the emphasis on the patriarchal family structure. Settlers arriving after the turn of the century, homestead less desirable mesa top lands, located further from the Purgatoire River. The type and use of local building materials, as well as the architectural features constructed by early settlers, document the long-standing Hispanic building traditions in Pinon Canyon.
  • -  Survey number: HABS CO-96

Medium

  • Measured Drawing(s): 1
  • Data Page(s): 42

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS COLO,36-MOD.V,6-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • co0255

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS COLO,36-MOD.V,6-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
      • The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Alfonso Narvaez, Jim Duran, John H Kirkpatrick, Eric E Miller, Michelle McFadden, Al Wiatr, et al., Thallheimer, Arnold, photographer. Pinon Canyon, Purgatoire River Area, Model, Las Animas County, CO. Las Animas County Colorado Model, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/co0255/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Narvaez, A., Duran, J., Kirkpatrick, J. H., Miller, E. E., McFadden, M. [...] U.S. Department Of The Army, S., Thallheimer, A., photographer. (1933) Pinon Canyon, Purgatoire River Area, Model, Las Animas County, CO. Las Animas County Colorado Model, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/co0255/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographer by Thallheimer, Arnold. Pinon Canyon, Purgatoire River Area, Model, Las Animas County, CO. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/co0255/>.