Two more Routt County properties receive historic designation

April 24, 2024 Shannon Lukens

By Shannon Lukens.

Two properties in Routt County have been approved for Routt County Historic Designation by the Routt County Board of County Commissioners.

The red brick M&M Parts and Service Building is on Walnut Street in Hayden. M&M stands for Minneapolis Moline. The building was constructed in 1928.

The second building is the Mangione Cabin at the upper end of Routt County Road 36, near the Strawberry Park Hot Springs. The cabin was built in the early 70s but the area was homesteaded by Sylvester Lee back in 1909. Documents show nothing in the cabin was built to code because there wasn’t a code at the time.

Press release from Routt County, Colorado; April 24, 2024.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Routt County Commissioners Designate Two Properties to the Routt County Register of Historic Properties

Routt County, CO, April 23, 2024 –The Historic Preservation Board presented two applications for Routt County Historic Designation to the Board of County Commissioners this morning, the Minneapolis Moline Parts and Service building and the Mangione Cabin. Both properties met the Statement of Significance criteria and were enthusiastically approved today.

Commissioner Tim Corrigan commented about the work of The Routt County Historic Preservation Board and those applying for designation, “In light of this accelerating change that we are seeing in Routt County, this work just becomes more and more important, so thank you!”

Minneapolis Moline Parts & Service – Full report available online.

Reportedly constructed in 1928, the building, located at 108 S. Walnut Street in Hayden, has endured as a familiar downtown landmark from that time to the present. In its earliest years it was associated with the Starr Mercantile Company, possibly as a warehouse. It also likely served as an automotive garage and gas station during the years of the Great Depression. The building is best remembered, however, as the location of “M & M Parts and Service” which existed at this location between circa 1940 and 1970. Owned by Jack B. Holderness, M & M Parts and Service was the Minneapolis Moline Power Implement Company dealership in Hayden. Even before the building’s construction, however, this site (Lot 18, Block 5, of the Original Hayden Townsite) played a key role in the socioeconomic development of western Routt County. In earlier years the site had been associated with the J.L. Norvell Mercantile Company, one of the two mercantile businesses which were established in Hayden in the late 1800’s.

The Minneapolis Moline Parts & Service Building meets several criteria for significance, including the singular role it played in the historical development of the community of Hayden and Routt County; for its exemplification of the cultural, socioeconomic and historic heritage of Hayden and western Routt County; and for its unique physical characteristics which represent and established and familiar visual feature in the community of Hayden and western Routt County. For over ninety- six years, this handsome, red brick building has served as an integral component of Hayden’s commerce.

“I just love seeing these applications and learning more a little bit more about the story… It’s just such an honor to be a part of this… I wish we had more folks who were so motivated and inspired to make sure that our history is not lost,” said Commissioner Sonja Macys.

Mangione Cabin – Full report available online.

The Mangione Cabin, located on the property at the upper end of Routt County Road 36, is Significant for its exemplification of the cultural, economic, social, or historic heritage of Routt County and for its unique location or singular physical characteristic representing an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, a community, or Routt County. Joe’s creative use of existing resources and salvaged materials to build his cabin took place long before the concepts of recycling and sustainability were well-known.

The history of the cabin is intertwined with the history of its proximity to the Strawberry Park Hot Springs and the social changes underway in Routt County when the cabin was being constructed in the early 1970s. The Mangione Cabin exemplifies the transition between the old and the new generations of Routt County residents. What they had in common was that many of them moved here with nothing more than their love of the land, their willingness to work hard, and their desire to create better lives for themselves in their new home. Those who stayed became valued members of the community.

Commissioner Corrigan thanked the applicant, “Without people like you who value these kinds of structures and the history of Routt County… there is a lot to lose here and it’s great that you are willing to put in the time effort and money to preserve a structure like this.”

These two properties join the following Historic Designations in Routt County:

NORTH ROUTT

SOUTH ROUTT

Town of Yampa

Unincorporated South Routt

Town of Oak Creek

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

WEST ROUTT

Unincorporated West Routt

Town of Hayden

The Routt County Historic Preservation Board

The Routt County Historic Preservation Board (HPB) was established in 1993 as an advisory board to the Routt County Board of County Commissioners (RC Resolution No. 93-006). The Board’s function is to review applications and to make recommendations for approval of buildings and sites to the local Routt County Register of Historic Properties.

HPB encourages property and building owners to nominate their buildings to the local register on a countywide basis by providing technical assistance for the application process and public education programs as well as public recognition for those buildings designated to the Routt County Register of Historic Properties.

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