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• Building depended largely on wood with only limited use of stone or other materials. The <br />development of Colorado cement supplies made concrete one of the most popular materials for <br />foundations and basements by the end of the 19'" century. The use of brick tended to be for <br />decorative purposes or in specific applications such as chimneys or foundations basements. This, <br />no doubt, reflected the high cost of transportation of bricks to the building sites located in azeas <br />generally some distance from railroads or brick yards. <br />The popular styles of the day were reflected azound Delta and Gunnison counties, most notably <br />in the farm and ranch houses and in cases of the more prosperous, the carriage houses and <br />workers' quarters. Of the stylistic influences of the ]ate 19'" century, two appear to have been in <br />the majority in the area - Italianate and Gothic Revival - both vernaculaz, not the work of <br />architects. Probably most were adapted by local builders from pattern books or the popular <br />press. Other styles that may have been present include Queen Anne and its variants. <br />In addition to those houses that could be cleazly identified as having some stylistic influences, the <br />utilitarian vernacular houses transplanted from the Midwest also dotted the Western Slope during <br />the late 19a' century. The most populaz of these was the "Gabled EI]" as defined in draft National <br />Register of Historic Places Bulletin 31. Though that publication refers to Midwestern <br />azchitecture, the Gabled Ell and its dozen of mutations appeazs to have been the populaz in the <br />region during the late 19~' century. Also, hipped roof cottages, similar to widely used designs in <br />• Colorado coal mining towns appeazed. Other vemaculaz styles such as the double pile and <br />shotgun house also could be found on the Western Slope by 1910. <br />_World War I and Depression Staee, 1910-1940 <br />After 1910, the azchitectwal preferences of local ranchers, especially the more prosperous ones, <br />diversified and broadened, reflective of the general prosperity on the Western Slope during the <br />first two decades of the new century. Some stylistic movements of the period caught the eye of <br />prospective house builders. However, others did not. Even some of the more urban oriented, <br />generally smaller house styles appeared on farms and ranches. Three styles that proved popular <br />with rural residents were the bungalow and its variations, the four squaze or prairie cube and its <br />variations, including one story, hipped roof cottages for workers' quarters. The variations on the <br />four squaze primarily are found in porch treatments, reaz additions, window arrangements and <br />dormer/no dormer roof lines, not in the basic volume, massing and feel of the houses. Finally, a <br />limited amount of colonial revival influence could be seen at tone time. Again, it appears as if <br />pattern books and other populaz media had great impacts on the Western Slope. Beyond that the <br />availability of mail order and Waal free delivery made parts, millwork, decorative times and even <br />whole houses available to farmers and ranchers. These tools of mass marketing acted to increase <br />the diversity of the region's built environment, but at the same time made much of the area look <br />like farms and ranches from Ohio to the Rockies. <br />Outbuildings that appear to have been fairly common were pump houses for domestic and/or <br />• agricultural water supply, animal sheds either attached to the barn or separate, chicken coops and <br />17 <br />