FROM THE HEART WITH GINI RIFKIN: Fort Collins

Showing posts with label Fort Collins. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

Colorado's 12,000 year old Lindenmeier Site

One of the most important archaeological sites in North America is right in our backyard! The Lindenmeier Site is located near Fort Collins, Colorado within the Soapstone Prairie Natural Area.

The archeological site dates back 12,000 years to the Ice Age and was discovered with the help of a cowboy named George McJunkin.

Although the Clovis people lived here previously, the Folsom culture is the most prominent at the site with findings of sewing needles, hide-scrapers, beads, and stone tools making the Lindenmeier site the most extensive Folsom culture site found to this day.

What were they thinking about as they sat around the first fire pit? Where they bragging about today's hunt, or wondering what the weather would be tomorrow.

The Folsom people were highly mobile hunter-gatherers who followed seasonal migration patterns across the Great Plains and American Southwest. They were given their name when archaeologists discovered their distinctive projectile points near Folsom, New Mexico, in the late 1920s.

The Folsom Point is thin, finely crafted stone projectile has a distinct channel (flute) chipped out of the sides to help attach them to spears and atlatl darts.

The atlatl is the weapon that filled the evolutionary gap between the spear and the bow and arrow.

My atlatl, thank you Tim H.

Discovered originally in 1908 by a former enslaved cowboy named George McJunkin, George tried numerous times to interest archaeologists, but with little success.

In 1918 he sent sample bones and a lance point to the Denver Museum of Natural History, who sent paleontologist Harold Cook during the following spring, and he and McJunkin did some exploratory digging. But a thorough excavation did not occur until 1926, unfortunately after McJunkin's death. The site would become known as the Lindenmeier site, named after William Lindenmeier, the landowner at the time.

Finding the Folsom site, forever changed American archaeology by linking human tools directly to Ice Age megafauna.

The City of Fort Collins owns the site today. The property is open for visits from March 1 until November 30 each year.

The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a National Historic Landmark. Artifacts from the site can be found at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery and in private collections.

Directions

Soapstone Prairie is 25 miles north of Fort Collins, allow about an hour travel time. From Fort Collins, take Hwy 1/ Terry Lake Road to County Road 15 north (towards Waverly). From CR 15, turn north onto Rawhide Flats Road and continue north to the entrance station.

From I-25, take exit 288 (Buckeye Road) west to County Road 15. Go north on CR 15 and turn north onto Rawhide Flats Road. Follow Rawhide Flats Rd to the entrance station. Soapstone Prairie is not accessible via I-25 exit 293 (CR 126/CR 5).

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Thursday, September 24, 2026

Soapstone Prairie Natural Area near Fort Collins, Colorado.

Recently, day-trippin' with Carol and Laura (thank you), we saw the Soapstone Prairie Natural Area located about 25 miles north of Fort Collins. (Almost to the Wyoming border, later we just had to have lunch in Cheyenne!)

Down a 9 mile gravelly road (not too bumpy) you come to this amazing expanse of nearly 19,000 acres or pure prairie where you can picnic, hike, bike, and tailride with equine in specified areas.

Note: This is one of the few Fort Collins natural areas in which dogs are not allowed, including in cars. (service animals that have been trained to assist a person with a disability are allowed).

In 2004, the City of Fort Collins purchased Soapstone Prairie Natural Area with the goal of conserving one of the most beautiful and important natural areas in the nation with a specific focus on plant communities, vegetation and wildlife.

Two types of wildlife were reintroduced to what used to be their natural habitats – the American Bison and the Black Footed Ferret.

By 1979, the Black Footed ferret was believed to be extinct. Their demise was due in large part to the fact that they use abandoned prairie dog holes in which to live and there was a huge push to eradicate by shooting and poisoning the prairie dogs, hence the black footed ferret died too

Today, with fewer than 500 in existence worldwide, Black Footed Ferrets are one of the most endangered mammals in North America.

The bison, due to slaughter in the late 1800's, were soon also brought to the brink of extinction. More than 150 years had passed since Bison roamed the prairie at Soapstone. But in November of 2015, the Laramie Foothills Bison Conservation Herd, a genetically pure Bison with a Yellowstone bloodline, was reintroduced to the Soapstone Natural Area.

The American Bison has since been named the national mammal of the United States. The Soapstone Herd has produced the first Bison calves seen on this land in 150 years.

Antelope also range there. They are so pretty!

Mountain lions, bobcats, and bears are occasionally spotted visiting the area. While coyotes, foxes, hawks, and eagles are the more common preditors.

Although when viewed from afar, the land appears muted in color, if you look closely you will find a myriad of flora.

Pasque flowers, prairie coneflowers, scarlet globe mallow, wallflowers, Wisk broom, the bounty changes season by season.

The Lindenmeier Site is also located within the preserve. This National Historic Landmark is from the Ice Age. Check with me next month for more details on this 12,000 year old archeological site.