The Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation is asking the general public to help identify historic places of diversity. Erika Warzel, National and State Register Historian with History Colorado, says it is an effort to recognize and celebrate Colorado’s diverse heritage.
“There are so many different stories and so many different histories in Colorado and there are quite a few communities that don’t have good representation in our general understanding of Colorado history but also specifically the National and State registers that recognize historic places.”
Warzel says they are focusing on historic places that relate to women’s history, African-American, Asian-American and Pacific Islander, LGBTQ, Latino, and urban Native American communities across Colorado. “What we’re really looking for first and foremost is to hear from the communities themselves to learn from them what are places that have been important in their own community’s history.”
She cites a schoolhouse in the little town of Garcia in the San Luis Valley. “This school was built in 1913, the roof has been changed since then and it hasn’t been used as a school for several decades, but overall it really stands as its own little school and it served this rural San Luis Valley community of Hispanic and Latino families.”
This initiative includes crowd-sourcing place-based stories, the development of broader histories, gathering oral histories from community leaders, and promoting nomination of significant places to the National Register of Historic Places where community interest exists.
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Preserving Diverse Historical Sites in Colorado KGNU News
The public is invited to share their knowledge of these locations through the following link:
