Cultural Resource Inventory for the Anvil Points Facility in Colorado

Project Name: Anvil Points Facility
Location: Colorado
Rural and/or Urban: Rural
Client: Golder Associates, Inc.
Dates: September 2006
CRA Project Manager: Ted Hoefer, III

Project Description: CRA conducted a Class III cultural resource inventory for Locality 5 of the Anvil Points Facility. Six other Localities were recorded by CRA personnel for a previous project. Locality 5 included the mine water supply area. The inventory was required to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This inventory was completed at the request of Golder Associates Inc. in conjunction with the Glenwood Springs Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Garfield County, Colorado.

The Anvil Points Facility was built in 1945 by, the Laramie Energy Research Center, a division of the U.S. Bureau of Mines began development of mining oil shale at Anvil Points. The project included an underground mine, an above ground refinery and retort, and a residential area to house project personnel. The facility was decommissioned in the mid 1980’s. Other Localities have been previously documented and include the plant site (Locality 1), the housing area (Locality 2), the trash disposal area (Locality 3), the mine (Locality 4), the water pump station (Locality 6), and the road system (Locality 7).

CRA recorded the water supply area, in September 2006. This consisted of two ponds, the remains of a pump house, a possible pump house, a dismantled power line, and the remains of a water tank. The Anvil Points Facility is eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A due to its importance to the economic development of the region and its importance in the history of oil shale development in Colorado.

CRA developed a Data Recovery Plan to provide mitigation against remedial actions planned for the Anvil Points site. The Plan included archival photography, archival research, oral interviews, and monitoring during re-vegetation of Locality 2 to document and protect the history of how the site worked and its social environment.