The wagon wheel ranch is located in Yuma County near the town of Yuma. It began in 1892 as a tree claim established by Henry C. Hoch and his wife Caroline. After a disastrous prairie fire and some difficult  years, Henry received the patent on the land in 1899, and later Henry and Caroline passed it on to their daughter Henrietta Hoch Anderson. The Wagon Wheel Ranch, as it has come to be called, is now owned and operated by Henry and Caroline's granddaughter, Mary A. Rogers and her husband, Francis M. Rogers.

The Vela Ranch is located in Delta County near Eckert, and is the second ranch we are recognizing today from the Surface Creek Valley. It was established in 1893 when James and Meri Vela purchased 40 acres from Albert Weir. By 1900, James' brother Caesar Vela arrived from Italy and the two brothers began to expand the ranch. Within ten years it reached its current size of nearly 1200 acres. Today the ranch is owned  and operated by James and Meri's grandchildren, Mary Vela Callahan and James D. Vela and his wife Carol.

The Salerno Farm is located in Las Animas County near Trinidad. It was started in 1898 by Antonio Salerno as a small truck farm, where the family harvested vegetables that were sold by wagon in the Trinidad  area. Today it used mostly for hay production, raising alfalfa and grass hay, and is currently owned by Antonio Salerno's great- grandson, Ron Arant and his wife Wendy. The Salerno Farm is also receiving the historic structures award for several buildings including the original farmhouse dating to 1900.

The Oldland Ranch covers 8400 acres located north of Rifle in Rio Blanco County. The ranch was first homesteaded in 1884 by Reuben Oldfield who passed the ranch on to his two sons, and then on to his grandson, Reuben and his wife, Norma. Today the ranch is owned by Reuben's great-grandchildren, Reuben Gerald Oldland, and his wife Stephanie, and Chris Oldland Uphoff and her husband, Tim Uphoff. The  Old land Ranch is also a recipient of the historic structures award for the preservation of several original buildings, including one dating back to the original 1884 homestead.

The Kehmeier Ranch, which is located near Eckert in Delta County, got its start in 1894 when William Frederick and Leota Kehmeier purchased 65 acres from Charles E. States. That first year William built a small, sod-roofed log cabin, which was home for his family of five for the first couple of years. By the late 1890s they built a second, larger log home, and by 1907 were able to move with their seven children into a fine, two-story house, which remains the family home today.

The Hogan Ranch is located south of Boulder, just over the Jefferson County line. The ranch dates back to1876 when Michael McNamara began purchasing parcels of land which,. with the addition of an area he homesteaded, grew to about 1000 acres by the 1890s. The ranch was passed down from Michael and his wife Ellen to their daughter, Mary, who later married Philip Hogan. Today the ranch is owned by Michael and Ellen's great-grandchildren, Edward G. Hogan, William J. Hogan and Joann T. Sharp.

The Hanson Farm is located on over 1900 acres in Yuma County near the town of Yuma. The farm got its start in 1887 when Anna Olsson first homesteaded the land. By 1894, Anna had married Ola Hanson; and just a year later received the patent on the homestead. Today the farm is owned and operated by Anna's grandson, William R. Hanson and his wife JoAnn, and they now raise wheat, corn, sunflowers and millet. The Hanson's are also receiving the historic structures award for several original buildings, including the 1888 stone homestead house.

The Fisher Ranch, located in Ouray County, dates back to 1893 when Edwin C. Fisher pre-empted land on Log Hill Mesa north of Ridgeway. The ranch was passed down to the current owners, Edwin & Linda lngo from Ed's mother, Clara, and uncle, Byran, who were the children of Edwin Fisher and his wife, Della. The ranch has grown in size over the years and today specializes in commercial Beefmaster/Red Angus/ Hereford cattle. The Fisher Ranch is also receiving the historic structure award for the preservation of severalearly buildings, including a 1910 granary.

The Crawford Ranch is located on 620 acres in La Plata County near the town of Hesperus. The homestead started out as a logging claim established by Allen & Pearl Crawford. Although there are no written records from the early days, and the exact date that they settled on the land is not known, it may have been as early as 1886, and land records clearly trace their ownership to 1898. The ranch is currently owned and run as a hay and cattle operation by Allen & Pearl Crawford's grandchildren, Mike, Mark, Ronald & Bonnie Crawford.

The Chess-Shoemaker Ranch is located in Fremont County near Canon City. It got its start exactly 100 years ago, in 1899, when Grant Chess purchased two 20-acre mining claims from F. M. and Emma Lockwood. Grant raised a few cattle on the small ranch, but made a living mining in the Cripple Creek area and later went to work for the Arkansas Valley Light & Power Company.