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<br />1 Depression, the Western Slope's stock raisers found themselves faced with severely depressed <br />mazkets and a debt structure that would force many of them out of business. For the azea's <br />ranchers the 1930s initially held little hope of improvement. However, the election of Franklin <br />D. Roosevelt and the sweeping changes his ascendancy to the Presidency meant led to better <br />times for ranchers and fazmers all over Colorado. Among the changes, Congress established <br />a system of Federal credit for agriculturalists. Also, Congress regulazized grazing on the <br />remaining lands of the Public Domain through the Taylor Grazing Act and Grazing Service, <br />predecessor to the Bureau of Land Management. <br />Since the 1930s the Western Slope's ranchers have faced a more or less continuous cycle of <br />' peaks and valleys in livestock prices and demand. This has resulted in the continued <br />consolidation of smaller ranches into larger units. Further pressures, such as growing demands <br />on local water, continue to mark the rancher's life in western Colorado. <br />' REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS <br />' Property Tvoe: Cattle and Livestock Ranches and Associated Features (1881-1944) <br />Description: A distinct pattern in the rural built environment has been identified in and azound <br />' the study area associated with the theme of ranching after 1881. It is based on a scheme briefly <br />outlined by Husband in the Plateau Country RP3 and Mehls in the Mountains RP3 and <br />confirmed by field observation. The pattern's stages aze discussed below. <br />Pioneer Stage, 1881-1910 <br />The pioneer stage of development proved short lived, but repetitive. Some building techniques, <br />such as log construction, were well adapted to the pioneering periods, whether it was during the <br />early 1880s or the early 1900s. Building techniques typical of the stage depended on readily <br />' available building materials, such as log or stone. Buildings associated with this property type <br />may exhibit additions and use of more modern materials, such as asphalt shingle roofing for <br />maintenance, or concrete for replacement of deteriorated foundations. With the exception of the <br />' bazns, the buildings are typically one or one and one-half stories tall. Stylistically the pioneer <br />stage buildings could be categorized as folk or vernacular in the truest sense. Outbuildings on <br />' these pioneer homesteads were few and tended to be multi-functional of log, pole and mud, mud <br />and stone, or dugout construction. Construction dates for this property type range between 1881 <br />and 1920. <br />' After approximately 18901oca1 builders had available, and used milled lumber, premanufactured <br />parts and millwork and non-native stone. Because of that, the pioneer lean-tos and log cabins <br />' along timbered drainages either disappeazed from the landscape or took on a different function <br />as those who prospered replaced their first houses and buildings. The railroads also made <br />possible the use of coal for fuel. Coal for heat resulted in changes to the interior layout and <br />' furnishings of the houses. <br />11 <br /> <br />