Eleven of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places Worth Protecting

Have you ever seen the Hanging Flume over the Dolores River in Western Colorado? What about the giant barn made of bricks built in Hotchkiss, Colorado? Both sites date back to the late 1800s and are cool places you can still visit to learn more about Colorado, and the Old West.

Read More: Colorado's Gravity-Defying 'Hanging Flume' Is a Sight To See

Colorado is home to 135 endangered places. Many are historic structures, old cabins, waterwheels, and interesting places worth preserving. Keep reading to look at eleven endangered sites on the western slope below.

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Colorado Preservation

If you love Colorado history, you'll love the folks at Colorado Preservation.org. They keep a really interesting site full of info for the entire state, and they receive tens of thousands of dollars in grants to help protect and restore some of the most historically significant locations on both sides of the Rockies.

Endangered Places in Mesa County

Locations of historical significance in Mesa County classified as "endangered" include a few places in downtown Grand Junction and a once-popular river crossing in Fruita. Keep reading for a closer at the eleven endangered locations below, including four sites in Mesa County.

• Grand Junction Union Depot
• Stranges Grocery in Grand Junction
• Handy Chapel
• Old Fruita Bridge

Read More: The Dolores River: 13 Cool Facts About Colorado's Hidden Gem

Some Of Western Colorado's Oldest Sites

Three of Colorado's oldest endangered places date back to the late 1800s. Western Colorado's hanging flume (1891),  the Hotchkiss barn (1885), and Handy Chapel near downtown Grand Junction (1892) are some of the oldest endangered locations we can still visit today.

Keep going to learn more about eleven of Western Colorado's historic locations worth protecting.