Rock Creek Stage Stop
Colorado’s Most Endangered Places Saved in 2000
At a Glance
Date Built: 1880
Restoration Start Date: 2000
Completion Date: 2001
The History
Originally built by James and Katherine Gates in the 1880s, the Rock Creek Stage Stop served as a family home, hotel, post office, and stage stop. It was a halfway station on the first Wells Fargo mail route into Yampa Valley and was a service center for settlers until the railroad line took over in 1887. Travelers going between Steamboat Springs and Kremmling stopped here before continuing their journey. The stage stop is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Project
Listed on the Endangered Places list in 2000, the stage stop was in desperate need of stabilization and restoration. Its stabilization was the result of generous funding from the State Historical Fund, hours of labor by dedicated volunteers and contractors, exemplary work from Mountain Architecture, and a partnership between the Steamboat Springs’ Historic Routt County and the Tread of Pioneers Museum, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Forest Service. Mountain Architecture was hired to stabilize and restore the building. Creative fundraising such as a raffle fundraiser event with two lucky winners receiving 150 lbs of fresh Yampa Valley grass-fed beef ensured community support and funding.
