History at Home

13 Jul History at Home

Since starting my internship, I have had the opportunity to live at McGraw Ranch, a historical ranch built in 1884 that has been preserved and repurposed as a space for researchers to live and work.  The ranch is named after the McGraws who owned the property as a cattle ranch just as Estes Park started becoming a tourist destination and when Rocky Mountain National Park was established. Because of the increase in visitors to Estes Park, the McGraws decided to build cabins adjacent to the ranch in order to host guests.  These cabins have been preserved today and are used as housing for researchers within the park, which promotes science in RMNP.  As I’ve lived here at the ranch, I’ve encountered many researchers with interesting topics, such as bacterial antibiotic resistance and pika monitoring.  The McGraw Ranch Learning Center facilitates a space for scientists to interact and discuss their projects.  Overall, my home away from home has a pretty interesting history that I plan to keep exploring.