Trip 2: The A.D. 1800s

Historic Exploration

The first written accounts and photographs of Castle Rock Pueblo were made in 1874 and 1875 by the Hayden Survey party. The group included photographer William Henry Jackson, journalist Ernest Ingersoll from the New York Tribune, and five support staff. All of these men were part of a geological survey team whose assignment was to explore and map the West.

While photographing the mining district of the San Juan Mountains near Silverton, Colorado, the survey party heard about the ancient cliff dwellings to the south and west. The party was fortunate to run into the Western explorer Captain John Moss, who agreed to be their guide.

For two weeks, the Hayden party, led by Captain John Moss, traveled throughout the canyon country of southwestern Colorado. Jackson's photographs of the cliff dwellings were the first to be published, and they brought national attention to the archaeology of the Mesa Verde region. His photographs appear in several early books about the American Southwest.

During that trip, Captain Moss took the party to the place that today we call Castle Rock Pueblo. There he told a story he had heard from an elderly Hopi Indian. The Hopi said that Castle Rock Pueblo had been the site of a great battle between the Puebloan villagers and a group of invaders from the north. Ernest Ingersoll published an account of this story in the New York Tribune on November 3, 1874.

The Homesteading Period

In the late 1800s, cattlemen from the nearby ranching communities of Mancos and Dolores used McElmo Canyon for grazing cattle in the winter. The climate in the canyon was also excellent for growing fruit. With the coming of the railroad and the development of large-scale irrigation, many new settlers came to southwestern Colorado. Families began homesteading land in McElmo Canyon in the 1880s. Many of these homesteaders farmed in the same areas that the people of Castle Rock Pueblo had farmed hundreds of years earlier.

The first priorities of the homesteaders were to clear the land, build homes, and plant crops and orchards. Once families were established in the canyon, neighbors would come together to build a schoolhouse. There were three one-room schoolhouses in McElmo Canyon. The most famous of these, the Battle Rock schoolhouse, is located about two miles west of Castle Rock Pueblo. The Battle Rock school was built in 1915. It is still used as a one-room school today.

By the early 1900s, most of the land in McElmo Canyon was settled. Today you can still meet descendants of the original homesteaders who settled there.

One thing we notice when we look at old photographs is that Castle Rock Pueblo has been damaged since the 1800s. Walls have fallen down or been pushed over, and graffiti has been inscribed on the walls. Some people have even used the butte for target practice, leaving large bullet holes in the rock face. Although many visitors to Castle Rock Pueblo enjoy and respect the site, not everyone knows how to take care of ancient places. What do you think would be good ways to protect these important sites?

Trip 1
A.D. 1200s

Trip 2
A.D. 1800s

Trip 3
A.D. 1990s