Guide Line Review
DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS at CHATFIELD . . .
Larry Vickerman, Director, Chatfield Denver Botanic Gardens, who gave us an overview of this venue before our Walking Tour.
The Chatfield facility opened in the early 1970s. It is leased to the Denver Botanic Gardens, a public entity, for 25 years by the Army Corps of Engineers who condemned the property in the 1960s because it lies in the Chatfield Reservoir flood plain. This attraction has roughly 350 acres in this portion although the entire facility contains 750 acres. Parts of the Massey Draw property and other portions are more southerly and consist mostly of native prairie grasses. This section of property (350 acres) is made up of the Green family farm and the Hildebrand Ranch. Chatfield is the last name of one of the early pioneers. Open every day from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, tours are by appointment; phone: 303.973.3705/303-973-0206.
The DBG at Chatfield welcomes over 110,000 people each year, mostly in connection with events such as school field trips, and weddings (85 this year!). Weddings are usually held in the Outdoor Chapel which offers a great view of the Foothills; receptions often are held in the Barn or outdoors. Two picnic areas are available. The facility welcomes many school tours each year although the rental cost of buses curtailed field trips this year.
Their "Corn Maze", covering about nine acres, opened September 9th this year and will be open weekends through the end of October. Rows are planted about 12 inches apart in early spring. The maze shape is cut in late June when the corn is about two feet high. The corn is then allowed to grow and maze paths are kept clear. Admission for this year's Maze is $10/person although students are charged $8/person. Over 45,000 people are expected to visit just the Maze this year. After closing the Maze, the corn is harvested in November by the Front Range Antique Power Association using antique farm equipment, some of which is displayed in front of the Barn. This corn is used as feed for farm animals. Remaining corn stocks are plowed under in late December to prepare for next year's maze. There is also a Children's Maze which is "Free of Charge".
The "Pumpkin Festival" is held the second weekend in October. Approximately 35,000 - 38,000 pumpkins are "in the patch". That number is measured by counting pumpkins in a 40' square and then extrapolating for the total nine acres. For school children ages K - 3, approximately 1,500, learn how to plant the seeds and grow them into pumpkins. The children then can choose a pumpkin from the "Pumpkin Patch".
An Open-Air area which can accommodate as many as 4,500 participants is used for concerts. This summer there were two: Bella Fleck/Bruce Hornsby and Everclear/ Desert Rose Band/Fabulous Thunderbirds/Bodine. These event announcements can be found on DBG's website on the Chatfield page: www.botanicgardens.org. Parking lots can accommodate about 5,000 cars total.
The Green Farm was bought after the end of World War I when there was wild speculation in agricultural lands. During the 1920s - 1930s, it was owned by a bootlegger who ultimately went bankrupt! The Greens had dairy cattle and ducks. At one time, a railroad station was near where the Chatfield Dam is now. The Greens accepted the price offered by the Army Corp/Engineers for the value of the land when it was condemned. They were near retirement and wanted to sell and move.
The Hildebrand Ranch was owned by the Hildebrand family for many years. There are photos from 1906 in the Ranch House which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The Frank Hildebrand family had come from Iowa in 1866; at first they had only 80 acres. The House was originally built in 1866 as a log cabin and added onto in the 1940s and 1950s. A glass window in the old cabin section shows the original log construction. A smaller house nearby was used for tenant-farmer families. No one is allowed to live on the facility now because of the possibility of flooding. The Barn and outbuildings there are still in use. The family added to the land until they had 2,800 acres. They ran cattle, living on the land until 1971 when it was condemned due to flood danger from Chatfield Reservoir. The family moved up the hill above the flood plain; they sold the remaining 800 acres in the 1990s. Some of that land is now Jefferson County Open Space. Mrs. Hildebrand died in 2001. Branches of the family today live in Gunnison and Canon City.
The House is decorated depicting the period between 1910 through 1920. Furniture is of that time and not original. There was no electricity until REA came in (1946 - 1948). The Hildebrands lived on this land for over 100 years. The House and another building have been restored by DBG with help from the Colorado Historical Society. Repairs are a constant need.
We visited the newly completed and now open Visitors' Center (elevated above the flood plain). Photos there explain what DBG does at Chatfield. They were taken by Scott Dressel-Morton, photographer for DBG at the "York Street gardens". The Center has a holiday lighting display from December 1st thru the end of January; in the past it has had an average of 15,000 visitors each year. The facility can accommodate more than 50,000 people during that time. The Center has been constructed above the flood plain. The only details not completed to date are the addition of phone lines and computer access. Landscaping around the Center will include a Plains Native Plant Gar-den. Laura Springer Ogden is the designer for that feature; work will begin next spring. Restrooms are available; there is plenty of parking for motor coaches!
The old one-room Deer Creek Schoolhouse is slightly below flood plain although it was intended to be above it. Built in 1874, it was moved to this spot in the late 1990s.
A Yurt located near the Barn is used for concessions for group events and is a busy place then. It is not heated or insulated for cold weather use.
Many wild animals travel through the grounds, including elk, bear, deer andrattlesnakes. Five wetland Bird watching sites are on the property; hawks are often seen as well as water birds and many other bird types.
One of the most successful ventures at Chatfield is the Community Supporting Agriculture Group. This is the first CSA program of its size in the country. Currently covering 3 acres, last year it produced over five tons. This year's crops are expected to be over 5 1/2 tons. Produce, from this garden, is sold by subscription at the beginning of the year; the money is used to buy seeds and plant the garden. Currently there are 155 subscribers who elect to have either a peck of food per week for $375 per season or a bushel of produce weekly for $475. Included in each share is fruit and fresh-cut flowers, plus a share of honey. Produce may be picked up at either the York Street gardens or at Chatfield. One can leave items not wanted or put them on a trade-table for more of a product wanted. Larry Vickerman told us there were bum-per crops of tomatoes this year as well as lots of potatoes, neither of which were so plentiful last year. Produce includes lettuce, arugula, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, kale, leeks, okra, etc. There also is an herb garden.
Shares sell quickly each year. Chatfield expects to add an additional acre in 2012 which would allow 50 more subscribers. There is one full-time paid grower plus 16 volunteers whose shares are part money and part-time work at the garden--its very labor intensive!
This year grapes as well as apples, plums and cherries were planted. DBG at Chatfield could do more than 500 shares if they had the manpower and the acreage. Heirloom tomatoes were one of the vegetables grown this year. Several varieties of watermelon included a Leopard stripe which is light and dark stripes outwardly with yellow flesh, and Moon and Stars, dark green with yellow spots. Both varieties of watermelon have lots of seeds.
Another feature at Chatfield DBG is an audio-cell phone tour with 12 stations scattered throughout the gardens. Each is "signed" and a phone number given to call for in-formation, some of which is recorded by Larry Vickerman.
Thank you Nancy Brueggeman.
More Chatfield - Chatfield Reservoir and Chatfield Avenue are both named for Isaac Chatfield, a Civil War veteran, who is "primarily associated with Littleton, where he had a large ranch. ..(Chatfield) obviously a land speculator who came here in 1870 from Fremont County (Colorado). His Littleton ranch was acquired from Daniel Witter, partner of David K. Wall (Golden) in the Wall-Witter stagecoach firm. Both the Witter and Chatfield names are listed among the owners of Bee Cove cottage (Lakewood)...Chatfield owned several valuable mines in Leadville and, after the silver strike, moved to that mountain community...meanwhile maintaining his Littleton farm..." In 1961, Mildred Bevans Ecckers and Paul Ecckers bought three acres north of Morrison Road and West of South Kipling Street. "The property was once owned by land speculator Issaac Chatfield and the Daniel Witter family..." Chatfield bought 720 acres at the confluence of the South Platte River and Plum Creek. Flooding of the area occurred in 1933, 1935, in 1942. In June, 1965, a major flood swept away many homes and businesses. Following that flood, citizens requested the building of a dam. Construction began in 1967 and completed in 1973 on both the dam and recreational area at a cost of $85 million.. The resulting water surface was over 1400-acres (Source: Lakewood - Colorado, An Illustrated Biography, Limited 25th Birthday Edition, 1994, pages 15 & 32, Edited by Patricia H. (Pat) Wilcox, Published by Lakewood 25th Birthday Commission; brochure on Chatfield State Park obtained at Corps of Engineers Visitor Center).
Tour of the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield
Tour of the gardens with Larry Vickerman, Director of the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. The Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield is a picturesque nature preserve among the grasslands, ponds along Deer Creek. We will meet at the barn for networking at 5:30 pm, followed by a tour of the facility at 6:00 p.m. with Larry Vickerman, the Director, who is also the voice of the audio trail. There are plenty of things to see, including nature trails, wildlife observation area, display gardens, educational exhibits, a historical farm, the 19th century one-room schoolhouse, the corn maze and the pumpkin patch!