Fort Chambers / Poor Farm Management Plan

The City of Boulder thanks Arapaho and Cheyenne Tribal Nations for working with the city to complete a concept plan for a unique city open space site with important historical, ecological and agricultural features and a direct connection to the Sand Creek Massacre. The city acquired the site in 2018 to fulfill open space purposes in the city charter, and it is located near Boulder Creek east of 63rd Street and south of Jay Road. It is currently closed to the public while the property management planning process is underway.

Learn more about this unique land through an ArcGIS storymap

City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) staff closely collaborated with Representatives of Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Nations to understand their desired long-term relationship with this site. Staff and Tribal Representatives worked together to create a Concept Plan that includes recommendations for future uses and improvements to the site.

The Concept Plan is based on a shared vision for the future: “Heal the Land; Heal the People” and envisions a healing place for all: community members, visitors, wildlife and natural ecosystems. It includes recommendations for an interpretive, healing trail with educational elements, enhancements to existing agricultural operations and large-scale, ecological restoration along the Boulder Creek corridor.

In July 2024, the Open Space Board of Trustees recommended the city move forward with the concept plan and include interested community members to help in telling all of the stories related to the site and developing future interpretive elements.

Since July 2022, Open Space and Mountain Parks staff have been collaborating with Tribal Representatives from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe to develop the concept plan:

• Ecological Restoration: Heal the land from past ecological disturbances to help sustain the area’s rich natural diversity.
• Healing Trail: Create a trail with areas for education, reflection and gathering to foster healing and help the Boulder community acknowledge and communicate its role in the Sand Creek Massacre.
• Visitor Access: Enhance visitor access with a new entrance, parking and bus drop-off.
• Agricultural and Farmstead Enhancements: Sustain ongoing agricultural operations and conduct restoration of the home and farm structures on the land.

Learn more about the concept plan.

The city and Arapaho and Cheyenne Tribal Representatives thank community members for providing feedback on the Concept Plan through an online questionnaire from Monday, March 25, through Sunday, April 14. We received more than 473 completed questionnaires and many written comments PDF. In addition, OSMP staff heard directly from dozens of community members during in-person listening sessions and through emails and long-form comment submissions PDF Written comments received through the engagement period are compiled into a compendium PDF.

Questionnaire results PDF showed strong community support for the city’s collaborative efforts with Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Representatives (86% strongly support, 6% somewhat support) and the recommendations included in the draft concept plan:

• Ecological restoration to “heal the land” (84% strongly support, 9% somewhat support)
• An interpretive, healing trail to “heal the people” (83% strongly support, 8% somewhat support)
• Continued agricultural operations (54% strongly support, 23% somewhat support)

OSMP staff prepared a written update for the Open Space Board of Trustees PDF with a review of the community feedback received.

City staff plan to meet with Tribal Representatives to help plan next steps for moving forward on the concept plan. The next phase of the project will include both tribal collaboration and community involvement and focus on the design of interpretive elements along the healing trail – exploring what information to share, and how it is presented.

Staff also will begin work to design ecological restoration efforts to “heal the land” and incorporate the plan recommendations into the department’s work plan and budget. Open Space and Mountain Parks staff encourage community members to sign up for the department’s e-newsletter to receive updates about this work and learn about future opportunities to become involved.

The city recognizes the "Fort Chambers / Poor Farm” name is not consistent with the new vision of creating a healing and welcoming place for all. We look forward to future discussions of possible new names for future trailhead/trails with Tribal Representatives.

The planning process for the concept plan included the steps in the table below. Tribal Consultation occurred through all four phases. Moving forward, a new planning process will be created to include Tribal Representatives and interested community members for the design of interpretive elements along the healing trail – exploring what information to share, and how it is presented.

Open Space and Mountain Parks staff encourage community members to sign up for the department’s e-newsletter to receive updates about this work and learn about future opportunities to become involved.

• Contact the project team

This unique property has important historical, ecological and agricultural features. In March 2023, Open Space and Mountain Parks compiled site information in an online format that includes details on:

• The history of the area, including historic maps and aerial photographs, to see how the land uses changed over time.
• Information about Fort Chambers, Company D, and a historic marker that was located on the property.
• The Queen Anne Victorian home on the land. The house and the adjacent area are on the National Register of Historic Places.
• A "poor farm" that Boulder County operated between 1902 and 1918. The county used the "poor farm" to help feed, house and care for older and sick community members, along with people experiencing physical and mental disabilities.
• The property’s ecological values. Today, it provides habitat for more than 100 wildlife species and 90 plant species PDF. It also has 48 acres of wetlands and open water.
• The land's agricultural uses and agricultural structures, irrigation water and fertile soils that have supported agricultural operations on the land for decades.

City staff also compiled in-depth information about the colonization of lands in Boulder Valley, Fort Chambers, Company D and the Sand Creek Massacre.

The City of Boulder honors Tribal sovereignty and conducts government-to-government consultations with Representatives appointed by elected leaders of Tribal Governments that have historic and enduring connections to the Boulder Valley and share agreements with the city. The city recognizes that Tribal Nations are sovereign governmental entities whose special relationship with the United States is recognized under the Constitution of the United States, treaties, Supreme Court decisions, federal laws and presidential Executive Orders.

Given the land's connection to the Sand Creek Massacre, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) staff have prioritized receiving guidance from Tribal Representatives – including Sand Creek descendants – designated by elected leaders representing the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. Throughout this project, the city has collaborated with Arapaho and Cheyenne Tribal Representatives to:

• Learn the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe's desired long-term relationship with the land.
• Understand how best to interpret the land's history and its connection to the Sand Creek Massacre and accurately describe Boulder residents’ role in the massacre.
• Identify opportunities to incorporate the intergenerational trauma that the Arapaho and Cheyenne Nations have endured from both the colonization of Indigenous lands in the Boulder Valley and the Sand Creek Massacre into Boulder history.

The city thanks Arapaho and Cheyenne Tribal Nation for the opportunity to listen to and learn from Tribal Representatives for this project. The timeline below provides a brief overview of city-Tribal Nation consultations for the Fort Chambers – Poor Farm property.

Read a broad compilation of timeline information that city staff have developed to provide community members context on colonization of Indigenous lands in the Boulder Valley, Fort Chambers, Company D and the Sand Creek Massacre. We ask community members to go beyond our broad overview and take time to learn more about the Sand Creek Massacre by:

• Visiting the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Eads, Colorado. Take time to reflect on the site, how Boulder community members participated in the massacre and the intergenerational harm it caused for generations of Arapaho and Cheyenne Peoples.
• Going to History Colorado's exhibit, “The Sand Creek Massacre: The Betrayal that Changed Cheyenne and Arapaho People Forever.” History Colorado developed the exhibit with guidance from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.