John Scarffe,  Gilpin County.  The ghosts and artifacts of early Gilpin County settlers will be open for viewing now that two historic cabins on Redtail Road off Robinson Hill Road opened on July 12, 2018. The two cabins at 104 and 114 Redtail Road appear in the historic U.S. Geological Survey maps dating back to 1906.

At the opening, Gilpin County Commissioners and staff, Timberline Firefighters and former residents of the cabin toured the cabins and discussed plans for County use.

On July 19, 2017, the Commissioners learned that the owners of the Redtail Cabins wanted to move or demolish the cabins, and the Board offered County-owned land in Colorado Sierra to which the cabins could be moved, but the owners declined the offer.

For $50,000 they would sell the cabins and the land to the County. A preservation grant was available for acquisition.

The cabins have been in the same family for a long time, but they were going to scrap them. The County had $50,000 from the Lincoln Hills Historic District for an impact fee. They have said they would open the site to veterans and school children. They could promote the cabins, sitting out in the middle of nowhere, as a historic tour.

The Board contacted two or three real estate agents and compared prices for the Redtail property. On April 24, 2018, Community Development Director Stephen Strohminger requested a local match to apply for a grant to fund an assessment on the Redtail Cabins for structural integrity to keep them sound and intact. It would be a 25 percent match for $3,250.

The County applied to the State Historical Fund for historic structure assessment reports on 104 and 114 Redtail Road. These properties were designated as Gilpin County landmarks by the Board of County Commissioners in February 2018.

The designation makes them eligible for State Historical Fund grants. The Board approved the match for the Redtail Road Cabins grant, and Commissioner Gail Watson said at the opening that the grants for stabilization have been approved.

Estimates for construction of the two cabins are from 1887 to 1900. In September 1910, Marion S. Wilson sold a large parcel in both Gilpin and Jefferson counties to John and Alma Gillfillan for $3,800, which included the quarter and quarter section containing the two cabins.

Gillfillan was a blacksmith in Denver, so it is unlikely the cabin ever served as their primary residence. In the early 1920s, the Gillfillans mortgaged the large parcel to Ambrose McCool. He did not purchase the cabin to the north.

In 1934, the Gillfillans sold the second lot to Virge L. and Bishop F. Barney. The Barney family has long ties to Colorado. Their ancestor, Lebeus Barney, arrived in Denver on the first stage coach of the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express on May 7, 1859.

By the end of the summer of 1859, he and his brother built one of the first frame houses in Denver, and was one of the original “59rs.” After failing at gold mining, he first tried farming, a grocery business and finally real estate.

It was his son, Bishop Francis, who purchased the property. He was born in Colorado in 1873, and Virgie was born in 1871. They had four children, and by 1929 he had his own real estate office. His family lived in Denver and did not reside at the cabin.

Three years after purchasing the cabin, his children, Lucile and Robert F., bought the adjoining cabin and lot to the south. Virgie sold this property in 1956 to her son, Lebeus, after Bishop’s death that same year. When Lebeus (AKA Bus Barney) died in 1990, he willed the property to relative David B. Jenkins.

In 2008, Jenkins sold the property to Virginia L Bobcow and Michael Jenkins, and in 2017, they sold it to the present owner, Robert Williams, who is also a descendent of Lebeus Barney.

Commissioner Gail Watson said that County Parks and Director Kyle Bennedict is excited about the possibility of having children out to learn how people lived in the 1800s.

(Originally published in the July 19, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)