National Park Service Considering Boggsville in Bent County

COLO. – Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) is pleased to announce that the National Park Service (NPS) is preforming a reconnaissance study of the Boggsville Historic Site in Bent County. If the study determines that the site qualifies to be a “unit” of the NPS then the agency will become responsible for operations, maintenance and preservation of the site.

“Boggsville represents an important piece of heritage in southeast Colorado, and this is welcomed news,” Gardner said. “It is my hope that after the survey is completed Boggsville will merit consideration as a potential unit of the National Park System.”

Gardner was informed of the NPS decision to study Boggsville in a Jan. 4 letter from the agency. The survey will be initiated this year, and the anticipated completion date is sometime in 2013.

About the Boggsville Historic Site:

Boggsville is a National Historic District that is owned by Bent County and managed by the Pioneer Historical Society of Bent County. It is the first non-fortified settlement in Southeastern Colorado, founded in 1862. It was the home of prominent figures on the western frontier, including Thomas Boggs, John Prowers, Kit Carson and others, and its history is inextricably linked to the stories of Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, Fort Lyon, and Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. The site is the foundation of the ranching and agriculture heritage of the region today.

Since 1986, the Pioneer Historical Society of Bent County has been supporting the preservation of the Boggsville site and its operations as an educational venue for the public. Boggsville’s role in the region is a pivotal link in the historical continuum of events leading from Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site and the development of the Arkansas River Valley.