SR Nominate DE Rt.
State Register Nomination
This portion of the DEEEP program is focused on the Nomination of the 1776 Domínguez Escalante Route to the Colorado Register of Historic Places.
The team completing this section is headed by archaeologist Glade Hadden and is mainly composed of archaeologists and local citizens with knowledge and expertise in the Archaeological sciences and/or local history.
The nomination process included tracing and photographing the route, relocating sites along the route associated directly with the expedition (sites mentioned in Escalante’s journal), relocating historic markers associated with the route and finally, completing state archaeological site forms for what are 12 individual sites – one for each county along the trail route. Those counties are:
Archuletta
La Plata
Montezuma
Dolores
San Miguel
Ouray
Montrose
Delta
Mesa
Garfield
Rio Blanco
Moffat
Site forms will be completed with individual segments recorded independently and ordered by segment number (eg site 5RB xxxx.1 etc).
The goal of this portion of the project is threefold:
- Placing the Domínguez/Escalante Trail on the State register of Historic Places will add a level of legal protection for the route.
- Designation as a State Register property opens up multiple avenues of funding for related projects including education grants.
- Ultimately, the three other states along the Domínguez Escalante route should conduct State Register nominations, which will ultimately allow a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the entire route.
Contributors:
Glade Hadden, archaeologist (ret). Project lead.
Luke Trout, archaeologist, Bureau of Land Management, White River Field Office.
Bridget Ambler and Vince McMillan, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.
Diane Sizemore, Rangely Outdoor Museum.
Dr. A. Dudley Gardner, archaeologist (ret). Western Wyoming CC and Northern Arizona University.