Medicine Bow - Routt National Forests
Thunder Basin National Grassland

USDA Forest Service
Medicine Bow-Routt
National Forests,
Thunder Basin
National Grassland
2468 Jackson Street
Laramie, WY 82070
307-745-2300

Telephone for the
Hearing Impaired
307-745-2307

The Seedhouse Guard Station will be available from Oct 1 thru March 31 and is located near the confluence of the Middle and North Forks of the Elk River that drains the high country of the Zirkel Wilderness. It was here, in 1910, that the Forest Service developed a seed collection and drying center for processing harvested spruce and pine cones. Ray Peck, an early Forest Service employee recalls that a large number of these cones were gathered there during which time forestry employees pilfered squirrel caches and harvested them in huge sacks and baskets and stored in the log sheds (Stevenson 1976).

Access

Access to the Seedhouse Guard Station is located along forest service road (NFSR) 400, approximately 25 miles north of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. From Steamboat Springs, take Highway 40 west to the junction of Hwy 129 and take a right. Travel 18 miles, and 1 mile just past the small town of Clark, take a right on Routt Cty Rd 64/NFSR 400. Travel 8 miles and turn left at a cattle guard. The guard station is tucked in the woods after a long driveway. Seedhouse Campground is directly opposite the guard station on the other side of NFSR 400.

Attractions and Considerations

The Seedhouse area is a popular year-round recreation destination. In the fall, the aspens turn brilliant shades of gold and red. Deer and elk hunting take place from September to November. When the snow flies in November, the Seedhouse corridor turns into a winter wonderland. Miles of groomed snowmobile trails lead to other parts of the forest. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing possibiliites are limited only by your imagination! Be sure to bring topographic maps and winter survival gear since there is only one marked ski trail.

Narrative

The Seedhouse Guard Station is located near the confluence of the Middle and North Forks of the Elk River that drains the high country of the Zirkel Wilderness. It was here, in 1910, that the Forest Service developed a seed collection and drying center for processing harvested spruce and pine cones. Ray Peck, an early Forest Service employee recalls that a large number of these cones were gathered there during which time forestry employees pilfered squirrel caches and harvested them in huge sacks and baskets and stored in the log sheds (Stevenson 1976). Cones were laid on large screens for drying with wood fires to coax the warmed cones into releasing their fruits into wooden trays, just as a forest fire would. From here, the seeds were packaged and distributed to all parts of the world. Ranger Blackburn contracted pneumonia whilst collecting cones and nearly died. In October of 1912, the Forest Service withdrew this land for the establishment of an administrative site, originally called the North Fork Administrative Station. The station was locally referred to as "The Seedhouse", and, since the North Fork name never caught on, the name was officially changed to "Seedhouse Administration Site" in April of 1929.

The seed processing operation eventually proved too expensive and was abandoned. After 1913, the site was used as a temporary ranger station. These temporary stations were often referred to as guard stations. In 1933, the Forest Service introduced a plan to construct a replacement station north of the original one (Seedhouse GS as experienced today). A two-room dwelling was constructed in 1934 based on a plan published in the USFS Construction and Maintenance Handbook. Many FS buildings were constructed in the early 1930s using this handbook. The style is representative of Forest Service architecture during the Civilian Conservation Corps era (CCC).

It was likely that this dwelling was first used by then Hahns Peak District Ranger Lawrence H. Carr. A combination single stall garage and barn was constructed north of the dwelling two years later. Following the completion of the new buildings, the site was used as a summer quarters, a popular meeting place for Forest Service supervisors, a training camp and the site and staff for several years. In 1945, the original log cabins of the seed processing center and original guard station quarters were destroyed. In the late 1940s and early 1950s Seedhouse Guard Station was a stop on the famous Golden Aspen Tour or "Aspencade" sponsored by the Denver Post, popular with many Denverites. During its tenure, Regional Forester Cliff (1950) and Forest Supervisor Pickford (1952) gave a addresses from atop the "Aspen Shrine" a veritable podium of nature constructed on the large glacially deposited boulder northeast of the guard station. Technological advancement and increased utilization of resources significantly altered the way federal lands were administered. Work crews and volunteers replaced the solitary ranger in maintaining the districts. By the 1960s, many guard stations like Seedhouse were used to house permanent and seasonal crews or seasonal volunteers. The garage/barn still serves its original function.

*Information garnered from the historic photographic files of the Routt NF. Guard Station history was largely drawn from the Hartley and Schneck Report in the site file for 5RT1178 (Seedhouse Guard Station). Both photos and site files are on file at the Supervisor's Office of the Medicine Bow-Rout NF, Steamboat Springs, CO.

Stevenson, Thelma V.

1976 Historic Hahns Peak. Robinson Press, Inc, Ft. Collins, Colorado.