Henry S. Persse and Roxborough Park’s Preservation

By Ben Fogelberg
History Colorado

The preservation community rightly praises builders, craftspeople and architects who marshaled capital and creativity to construct the landmarks that define our neighborhoods. Buildings or structures that are associated with significant people and are distinguished by “the work of a master” are often rewarded with eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. Less often do we cheer the people who didn’t build; the stewards who, through accident or intent, fashioned a balance between built and natural beauty.

Henry S. Persse (pronounced “purse”), would-be developer of Roxborough Park, was such a steward. His modest stone house, restored and interpreted with assistance from the State Historical Fund, connects its visitors to the story of his life, his love for the land and his partially unrealized vision for its future.

Persse, a native of New York, visited Colorado in 1882 after reading an article describing its mountains and mineral wealth. In 1889, he acquired land south of Denver in an area then known as Washington Park. Named for a distinctive rock that resembled the first U.S. president’s profile, the land included spectacular red sandstone formations nestled among prairie grasslands, scrub oak meadows, and evergreen forests. Sometime later, Persse renamed the land Roxborough Park after his family’s estate in County Galway, Ireland. In 1902, he and two other men formed Roxborough Land Co. to develop the property into a premier tourist destination.

In 1907, the Denver Republican reported Persse’s plans to build a “splendid resort” with “a first class 200 room hotel, golf links, a club house, a well stocked lake, charming driveways, and comfortable cottages all placed in surroundings said to be the most beautiful.” Visitors would travel there from Englewood via a state-of-the-art electric train.

Although Persse never built the hotel or golf course, the simple amenities that he did construct attracted Denver’s high society and put Roxborough Park on par with other Front Range getaways. He erected a two-story stone house set into a hillside, various farm and ranch structures, and several guest cottages near the famous presidential profile. Guests met their proprietor in the stone house’s second-floor parlor and took their meals in the kitchen below. And though plans for the electric train short-circuited, visitors could hop aboard the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad for the short jaunt from Denver’s Union Station to Kassler, near Roxborough.

Excerpted entries from Persse’s guest book show how early 20th-century visitors appreciated Roxborough Park’s beauty and understood the need to find a balance between economic development and the preservation of natural resources. Edmund J. Churchill of Denver wrote, “A Park made by Nature’s hand alone – The Arts of Man could only mar it.” Denver Mayor Robert W. Speer opined that the park “should be owned by the city for the free use of the people.”

Persse died Aug. 26, 1918, when a tramway car struck him as he crossed the intersection of Milwaukee and Twelfth Avenue in Denver. And though his plans to build a hotel in Roxborough Park died with him, his desire to share the area’s beauty with family, friends and the general public were realized. In 1975, the Colorado State Division of Parks purchased 500 acres of the Persse family property, forming Roxborough State Park. Since then, the park has expanded to 3,319 acres. Containing an unusual combination of diverse ecosystems, historically significant structures, and archaeological resources, the park enjoys National Natural Landmark and National Cultural District designations. Persse’s stone house is located within the Roxborough Park Archaeological District.

The State Historical Fund awarded Roxborough State Park four grants totaling more than $134,000 between 1994 and 1999 to restore the stone house, interpret its history through a training program and handbook, and to conduct a cultural resource inventory of newly acquired park property. Today, visitors drawn to the park by rocky vistas and wildlife have an opportunity — while strolling a footpath leading from the visitor’s center to the stone house — to learn about early 19th century tourism, ranching, and about Persse’s dream and legacy.

Fogelberg is a former editor at History Colorado.

IF YOU GO

Roxborough State Park is open every day of the year. To reach the Persse Place, hike 1.1 miles north from the Visitor Center on the Fountain Valley Trail. A Colorado State Park pass is required for all vehicles entering the park.