Rock Ledge Ranch

Summer is just around the corner and we can’t wait!

This week our seasonal staff was trained on everything from archaeology to zoology and everything in between!

We toured each of our unique homes and sites and learned a little something - even for returning staff.

Summer living history starts next Wednesday (June 3rd!) and all of our buildings will be open for your enjoyment! We have two original houses, the Orchard and Rock Ledge house, along with our homestead cabin, blacksmith shop, garden, and barnyard.

Living history runs the whole summer from Wednesday-Saturdays 10am-5pm and Sundays from 1pm-5pm and does require the purchase of a ticket to enter the buildings.

Rock Ledge Ranch remains open from dusk till dawn everyday as a free city park, only our building tours require purchasing a ticket!

We are so excited to start this fantastic season and we can’t wait to see you at the Ranch!

“All good Americans are looking forward to the passage of the year 1876 with great interest; and it is not to be denied that they are animated by a new hopefulness. The financial failures that occur do not depress the business circles as they once did. There is a belief that we have seen the worst, that it is well that the rotten houses should go down, and that we shall, practically, start, during our Centennial, a new and prosperous national life.”

Centennial celebrations in 1876, during the time the Chambers lived at Rock Ledge Ranch, focused on the past, present, and future of the United States of America. In an article in the January 8, 1876 edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Centennial Commission called the whole country to a project that they argued “may be made one of the most important and enduring features of the Centennial Celebration:”

“It seems proper that the local celebrations of the Fourth of July, 1876, which will be held throughout the land, should be made to contribute to a permanent historical memorial of the Centennial Celebration. In each country provision should be made for the delivery of an address, tracing the history of that particular community for the past century, or from the time of its settlement.”

Other writers early in the year expressed an optimistic hopefulness that the Centennial would bring economic prosperity and national unity. The occasion of the Centennial was bringing new business to America, it was a presidential election year, and the Centennial exposition would bring people from all parts of the nation together. One writer wrote on January 1, 1876: “The nation is to be brought together as it has never been brought before during its history…We are now all members of a consolidated nationality, and this year, around the old family altar at Philadelphia, we expect to meet and embrace as brothers.” People across the nation placed great hope in the Centennial celebrations to unite the country and bring prosperity to all.

This weekend is the third annual Garden of the Gods Art Festival at Rock Ledge Ranch!

The festival will feature 150 talented artists and craftspeople who will showcase their amazing creations from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17.

Good news! Garden of the Gods Art Festival will have an easy complimentary shuttle option from Coronado High School (1590 W Fillmore St), running 9:30-5 both days. Drop-off and pick-up are at south festival entrance only.

General admission is $10 per person, but LHA members will attend for FREE! Both days! Bring your membership card and enter via the line marked for LHA members. It will save you a ton of time!

Not a member? Sign up online at rockledgeranch.com/membership

Join us this weekend for this fantastic event!

Photo by: Dash Events

For more than three years, one father-daughter team have almost literally looked under every leaf at Rock Ledge Ranch on perhaps the greatest treasure hunt ever seen at the Ranch. This is not an exclusive treasure hunt, however, and it’s one they’re inviting us all to join in. The treasure: nature itself. Cassie and Joshua Kemp have spent years identifying and researching the plants of Rock Ledge Ranch, and have written a field guide, The Plants of Rock Ledge Ranch, which is now available in our General Store.

If you’re interested in hearing their story, it will be featured this month in our Rock Ledge Ranch email newsletter, the Roundup! If you aren’t already subscribed to our newsletter, hurry over to our website and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up! This once-a-month email is full of real-life stories of the Ranch and details about upcoming events. Sign up today at RockLedgeRanch.com before the newsletter releases Friday!