Yellow Barn and Historic Well Traditional Cache
PantalaNagaPampa: Has lived it's life.
Yellow Barn and Historic Well
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is a regular sized plastic cylinder hide in a very cool historic area. Permission was obtained from the property owner for this hide. The yellow barn was built in 1918 and the nearby well was dug during the Civil War.
Here's the history of this wonderful historic corner.
From: (visit link)
History of the Yellow Barn
by Milly Roeder
The Yellow Barn was built in 1918, and today sports traces of yellow paint and the original red cedar shake shingle roof. Standing prominently at the historic Bradford Junction at the corner of Jefferson County Highway 73 and Barkley Road, the Yellow Barn is a beloved landmark and appreciated for its history and architectural grace. The barn stands at the historic junction, where in 1860, the Denver Bradford and Blue River Road joined the Mount Vernon, Blue River and Gregory roads from Bergen Park and Evergreen on the way to today's Conifer. The road then and now continues further south and west to Leadville. When the two roads joined there in 1860, it was called Bradford Junction, named for Major Robert Bradford, who owned the property and 320 surrounding acres from 1860 to 1873. In years following, the area was also known as Junction Ranch, Hutchinson, Hutchinson Bradford and Conifer Ranch.
The Civil War well on the property near the Yellow Barn was dug during the Civil War from 1861 to 1862. The watering hole served as a popular stopping place on the toll road from Ken Caryl to Conifer and points west. The first post office was established at this historic crossroads in May, 1865 as Hutchinson, a little more than 12 miles southwest of Morrison and six miles south of Evergreen. The name of the post office was changed to Conifer in 1894.
The first abstract of title was issued by the United States to Silas P. Elliott on October 20, 1873. A warranty deed from Mr. Elliott was issued to James McNasser on February 16, 1874. The Denver Daily Times reported on September 27, 1878 that a fire destroyed the hotel, tollgate and stagecoach station. Although the Junction house was rebuilt, its owner, Mr. McNasser had to sell his holdings to pay off his gambling debts after he lost heavily one night in 1878. A warranty deed transferred the property to Evaline Hamer on September 29, 1881, who ran the Junction as a general store and post office for many years.
Still standing on the property are the farm house and a caretaker's building, the former milk house, both originally built in 1910.
During the next 37 years, the property was transferred numerous times. By February 20, 1918, the property had increased in size to 720 acres. A warranty transferred the property, then known as Junction Ranch, from Frederich Buechner to John J. Mullen. An addition to the deed later included Jeanette E. Mullen, John's wife and the J. K. Mullen Corporation.
John Mullen built the present three story, 5,000 square foot bank barn on the Junction Ranch property in 1918. Historic preservationist Alexis Ehrgott discovered that the number 221, repeatedly found on interior boards of the barn, provides evidence that the barn was built from a Gordon Van-Tine barn kit and not, as initially had been assumed, from a Montgomery Ward or Sears & Roebuck kit. The Yellow Barn reflects elements of many farming cultures in the American Midwest of the 19th and 20th centuries. The clear span Gothic arch truss roof and a very small roof overhang of the barn are reminiscent of Pennsylvania Dutch style architecture. An earthen ramp leads through double wagon doors to the main floor, suggesting a bank barn, the accepted design for the storage of hay and grain. A band of six windows on each long wall provides day light into the main floor; the basement stored horse carts; and the top floor provided a hayloft. It also stabled Mr. Mullen's show horses. When it was not also used for hay, it was used for community dances during the summer months. The hardwood floor was good and slick from dust and stored hay, and members of the community enjoyed to dance waltzes, fox-trots and square dancing on it. People came from the vicinity, including Richmond Hills and Pleasant Park, to attend the dances. Box lunch socials were held in the barn, which further enamored the Yellow Barn to the community. "A large Republican rally and dance was held in 1936, to garner support for Republican presidential candidate Alf M. Landon, who was running against Franklin D. Roosevelt," wrote Betty Moynihan in a 1997 narrative.
Heini Livonius, the son of local pioneers, was one of the carpenters who built the barn. He was postmaster around 1916 or 1917, although it is said that his wife did most of the work.
The Mullen family sold the Yellow Barn property on April 1, 1942, which now included the main house, a milk house, and the barn, to J. H. Brubaker, who sold it to Justus and Hedwig Wilhelm and Ernst Kemnitz in 1946.
Edward and Lois Currier purchased 355 acres on June 13, 1955. They subdivided the land, selling both large and small parcels, but keeping 25 acres between U.S. Highway 285 and County Highway 73 for their children. In 1971, the family donated the use of the barn to the first Conifer Hobby and Arts Fair. The Curriers sold 2.58 acres at 27051 Barclay Road, the present address of the Yellow Barn and the Civil War well to Dale Davis.
By 1996, the current owner, Corrine Meyers had the "Child Garden Learning Center" placed near the site of the Yellow Barn.
In 2003, the Landmark Designation Committee of the Jefferson County Historical Commission designated the Yellow Barn in Conifer a historic landmark. On December 29th, 2010, Andy and Denise Clark of Yellow Barn LLC took possession of the Bradford Junction Corner. Denise is co-owner with the Creative Minds Child Care Center that is on the property.
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Gerr