Rooney Ranch
Jefferson County
The buildings located within this approximately 200-acre agricultural district are especially noteworthy due to the extensive use of native sandstone in their construction. The 1¾-story ranch house was built by Alexander Rooney and his brother-in-law Thomas Littlefield in the early 1860s. The coursed walls are of large, smooth-faced sandstone blocks, and an 1867 spring house is of similar construction.
Rooney Ranch
The 1890 barn and most of the numerous buildings constructed through the mid-20th century are of uncoursed rubble. Rooney, a stonemason and farmer, arrived in 1859 and soon realized there was money to be made in provisioning the miners flocking to the area. He started a dairy farm and later raised horses and cattle on his ranch, which at one time encompassed 4,500 acres.