Pioneer Town

This village of two dozen historic structures was erected by the Surface Creek Valley Historical Society on the old Bar I Ranch site, whose only surviving structures are three silos (1918). Made of 2-by-6-inch boards stacked flat and standing 40 feet high, these sturdy eight- and nine-sided grain storage towers are the centerpiece of Pioneer Town. Structures moved in from elsewhere include the Cedaredge Jail, the Lizard Head Saloon, the First State Bank of Cedaredge, the Coalby Store (1910), and the Surface Creek Creamery. Antique tools and machines are also on exhibit in one of the state's more ambitious village reconstructions.

Donald and Inez Petersen, who funded Pioneer Town, also donated its Chapel of the Cross (1989). This exquisite board-and-batten variation on the white churches of the plains has a detached sanctuary end wall separated from the glazed gable end of the church by an outdoor courtyard. A copper roof, fine stained glass, exposed ceiling beams, and lovely landscaping are among the other refinements. Verticality is created by the pointed windows, batten stripes, and steep pitch of the gable roof.