Charles L. and Maude W. Melvin homesteaded Melvin Ranch, receiving the patent on the land in 1901. The ranch grew to 628 acres, and is used for pasture and hay production. Their grandchild and family operate the ranch today.

In 1887, what is now the Simmons ranch near Doloras was first homesteaded by George and Elizabeth Osterfeld. They left the farm to their daughter Julia Simmons who then passed it on to Harold and Lillian Simmons. Today, Lillian and her son, James, own the ranch, which includes several historic structures that are being recognized by the National Trust's special award.

Back in 1874, Hiram Ritter homesteaded 160 acres northwest of what is now Cortez. That parcel became the nucleus of a sheep ranch which at one time encompassed 3600 acres of deeded land and over 1500 acres of leased land. It had the reputation of being one of the best sheep ranches in the Montezuma Valley. Sheep continued to be raised on the ranch until 1976. Today cattle and grass hay are grown.

Laura and Howard Garwood and their children set out from Kansas to find a new place to live. They made it all the way to California and then headed back to Colorado. They proved up on their homestead in 1923, and the farm has remained in the Garwood Family ever since.

John and Rosa Koppenhafer purchased this small farm on March 16, 1918.  Their son George and his wife Ellen eventually took over the farm and raised 13 children there, six of whom were born in the old house still remaining on the property and now used as a storage shed. George and Ellen passed the farm on to their son Vern, who now owns the farm with his wife Anna Ruth.  Vern helped both his grandparents and parents farm the property, using horses and horse-drawn equipment such as plows, mowers, and rakes.

In 1916, Frank Greenlee filed homestead papers for and moved onto 160 acres near Cortez. In 1918, he purchased an additional 160 acres to the north. On the combined 320 acres, he raised cattle, hogs, corn, and hay, as did his sons Harold, Howard, and George after him.  George’s son Gale continues to farm the land, raising the same crops and livestock as his father, uncles, and grandfather.  Two homestead houses, a blacksmith shop, and outhouse remain from the very first years of homesteading by the Greenlees.

The Far View Visitor Center within Mesa Verde National Park is nationally important for its association with the National Park Service’s national Mission 66 visitor and building improvement program, a system-wide effort to modernize the national parks in the 1950s-60s.

This well preserved example of a small multiple-household was occupied between AD 1200-1250.  The site can provide important information about the development of Mesa Verde cultural tradition and kiva architecture.  

Yellowjacket Pueblo is considered one of the largest habitation sites with public architecture in the Mesa Verde region.  The expanded State Register boundary includes a 24-acre tract immediately adjacent to the 45-acre National Register parcel.

An excellent example of a 13th century village built in the open on the rim of a small canyon, the site has the potential to provide important information regarding prehistoric community organization, horticulture, and regional abandonment.  Listed under Great Pueblo Period of the McElmo Drainage Unit, AD 1075-1300 Multiple Property Submission.