{"id":66092,"date":"2020-02-29T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-historic-designation-for-helens-corner-a-landmark-northeast-of-durango\/"},"modified":"2020-02-29T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-29T12:00:00","slug":"a-historic-designation-for-helens-corner-a-landmark-northeast-of-durango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-historic-designation-for-helens-corner-a-landmark-northeast-of-durango\/","title":{"rendered":"A historic designation for Helen\u2019s Corner, a landmark northeast of Durango?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A historic photo of sheep coming down from the high country and passing by Helen\u2019s Corner on Florida Road (County Road 240) between Lemon and Vallecito reservoirs. Community members are interested in giving the corner a La Plata County historic designation.<\/span>Courtesy of Jeff Sonheim<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The decades-old country store at Helen\u2019s Corner in the mountains northeast of Durango might seem remote. But its location at the intersection of Florida Road (County Road 240) and County Road 243 has given it a front-row seat to some of the area\u2019s most historic moments.<\/p>\n

Now an idea is stirring: Helen\u2019s Corner could be a candidate for La Plata County\u2019s next historic designation.<\/p>\n

La Plata County has 16 sites with historic designations, a process that requires commission review and a resolution passed by county commissioners. In 2010, county officials surveyed Helen\u2019s Store and 99 other potential historic register sites.<\/a><\/p>\n

Some community members see a historic designation for the store, itself; others, the intersection.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody and their brother knows where Helen\u2019s Corner is,\u201d said Les Mignerey, 76, who has been visiting the area since he was 14. \u201cThat\u2019s the important thing we\u2019re trying to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the whole idea requires the owner\u2019s permission, and the owners are planning to sell.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would depend on the (designation\u2019s) limitations \u2026 to see if we\u2019re not allowed to do anything more with the property,\u201d said Nicole Hutchins, co-owner of the old store and a nearby business, Helen\u2019s Country Liquor Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A
A historic photo of the inside of Helen\u2019s Store on Florida Road (County Road 240) between Lemon and Vallecito reservoirs. The store served as a central gathering point during some of the area\u2019s most historic moments.<\/span>Courtesy of Jeff Sonheim<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A historic designation does not limit what owners can do with their property, said Ruth Lambert, a member of the Historic Preservation Review Commission, which approves applications for commissioner consideration.<\/p>\n

The designation comes with a plaque and a resolution from the county. It could also improve a location\u2019s eligibility for restoration grants. But it does not require any maintenance by the owners or the county.<\/p>\n

The owners have not yet had any interested buyers. Nor have people asked them for permission to apply for a historic designation.<\/p>\n

Still, the Hutchinses, like other locals, have always considered the property to be historic because of its central role in community life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelen\u2019s was extremely active because there were lots and lots of visitors,\u201d Mignerey said.<\/p>\n

\"Helen
Helen Burkett, who died in 2003, opened Helen\u2019s Store on Florida Road (County Road 240) in 1936, before the Lemon and Vallecito reservoirs were built nearby. She operated it for more than 60 years.<\/span>Courtesy of Jeff Sonheim<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In the 1890s, Helen Burkett\u2019s parents bought land at the intersection from a local cowboy for $1,000 with a $1 down payment, said Jeff Sonheim, 63, a longtime resident above Lemon Reservoir. The price equals about $29,000 adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n

The store\u2019s business, with a sawmill behind it, rose and fell with the lumber economy. Construction workers gathered for drinks while building the Vallecito Dam in the late 1930s and the Lemon Dam in the 1960s. For a while, it was the longest continuous Coors vendor in Colorado before the property sold in 2006, Sonheim said.<\/p>\n

During the Missionary Ridge Fire in 2002, Helen\u2019s Store became command central for the firefighting response. In some years, hundreds of sheep would pass by as ranchers drove them out of high country grazing areas. In 1996, thousands of cyclists whirred by during the Ride the Rockies tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the most people I\u2019ve ever had in my yard,\u201d Burkett told The Denver Post<\/em> as cyclists rolled through.<\/p>\n

\"Helen\u2019s
Helen\u2019s Store at the intersection of Florida Road (County Road 240) and County Road 243. The local landmark opened in the 1930s.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Helen\u2019s
Helen\u2019s Store at the intersection of Florida Road (County Road 240) and County Road 243. The local landmark opened in the 1930s.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The store\u2019s central role in the area\u2019s history and its status as a local landmark could help it earn a historic designation, said Lambert, a local historian.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have our history. \u2026 It\u2019s not like the history of any other place,\u201d she said. \u201cWe really should preserve that to the extent that we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burkett, who owned the store for 67 years and died in 2003, was a local figure in the area\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

When Burkett opened the corner store in 1936, she was a single mother with three children during the Great Depression. It was after her house burned, and she had only a sewing machine to her name, Sonheim said.<\/p>\n

Burkett, who was feeding cows until age 87, didn\u2019t have time for people who didn\u2019t work hard. Community members who knew her called her \u201cfeisty\u201d with a rebellious streak.<\/p>\n

Sonheim lived on the property and knew Burkett well. When he considered the historic designation, he considered what she would want.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019d say, \u2018I don\u2019t give a rat\u2019s ass either way,\u2019\u201d Sonheim said. \u201cBut I think in her honor, I definitely want to try to get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Country store has served rural residents, bicyclists and firefighters over the decades<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13,5462,198,5463],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-66092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-helens-store","tag-history","tag-history-in-the-herald"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66092"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=66092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}