Photo by Michael E. Shimniok.
This house was built in 1882, of stone quarried from the valley in which it lies, by the Gardner family -- Bostonians come west to participate in the lucrative cattle industry. The blizzards of '86-87 decimated their herds, however. In response, the Gardner's left the West for the familiar territory of Boston.
The house was mostly vacant for a few years when an ancestor of mine, Curtis Griffin, who, along with his brothers, owned a small cattle ranch in the same area, purchased the home.
The house was inhabitted through the early 1960's, though it had been sold from the the family previous to that time. The house has since been purchased back into the family and is slowly being restored.
The creek valley that it sits in is a lush oasis of greenery and animal life. The house itself has been a home to owls, barn swallow, bats, and at least one porcupine. Cleanup from these animals alone is bound to take a while. The area is also home to many deer and turkey, which are seen daily. Rattlesnakes are also very common.
