303-278-3557

Katherine Craig Park


Address56 acre Denver Mountain Park, leased exclusively by Mile High Council of Girls Scouts, north east of I-70 exit 254, off the US Highway 40;Unicorporated Jeffco, Golden Postal Zip Code 80401
QuadEvergreen, 1994
SectionS12, T4S, R71W
Elevation7600
SourceNational Register of Historic Places-Multiple Property Documentation of Denver Mountain Parks 1988; "The Shinning Mountains" by Georgina Brown 1976, City and Mountain Views(Feb.1994), Mount Vernon Canyon Past to Present by Carole Lomond
OtherMount Vernon Club Place; Genesee Camp
Initialdate1998-01-05 00:00:00-07
PersonCAL
Latestdate2012-12-03 00:00:00-07
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HistoryThe Hugh T. Craig settled in Mt. Vernon Canyon from Virginia from 1870. They left a legacy of much open land that became granted to the City of Denver or purchased by Mt. Vernon Country Club. Katherine L. Craig grew up in the area and became Jefferson County Public School Superintendent and was elected three times to the position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1905-1930. An oversized native stone marks her grave next to her parents at Rockland Cemetery. She specifically donated the 56-acre tract to Denver Mountain Parks "for the education of youth." She wrote Craig’s Brief History of Colorado "for Teachers and Students" in 1923. The Works Progress Administration established a Civil Conservation Corps base camp on this land to help build US Highway 40, Genesee Parks roads, and other public roads during the 1930s. The government financed buildings, which have been improved and maintained by the Girl Scout Organization. They have also added playground and picnic areas, and provided wildfire mitigation and wild land stewardship services. Mt. Vernon Metro District (Country Club) Open Space, a nine hole golf course in the 1920s, is adjacent to this park on the north. The Genesee Crossing residential community was developed adjacent to the west boundary off South Mount Vernon Country Club Road.
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