Alpine Guard Station Historic Preservation - July 5-9 and 12-16, 2010

Over 2 weeks in July, 2 small groups of VOC volunteers ventured to the Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison National Forest.  There, they camped in the beautiful, green valley and worked on an exciting new type of VOC project –preservation of historic structures located on public lands. 

The team focused on restoring the Alpine Guard Station, first constructed in 1913 as a remote ranger station for the U.S. Forest Service.  The station consists of 3 historic buildings, all of which are being rehabilitated for public use. 

Volunteers learned all sorts of new skills as they helped replace deteriorated logs, or “sills”, on the buildings, and replaced old roofing boards with new ones.  The teams also helped construct a new building that will house solar technology, and will bring electricity to the historic site for the first time.

This project was in partnership with HistoriCorps, a program of Colorado Preservation Inc.  HistoriCorps will continue to lead the restoration efforts throughout the summer and early fall, with the goal of opening the buildings up for public use.