Steamboat Pilot & Today

The 107-year-old Smith Barn and the 1912 farmhouse from the old McDermott place have seen a lot of Routt County history, but from different vantage points. Now, they can be purchased as a package.

The buildings, which are from different eras in the history of the Elk River Valley, are united on a 35-acre parcel along in a quiet area known to residents as "Deep Creek."

Pilot Knob, named by pioneers because of its value as a landmark, overlooks the broad pastures and hay meadows that surround the property.

The home has been added on to and decorated by owners Dana and Lynn Carl, who purchased the property in 1993. Dana's efforts to refurbish many of the home's original features improve the level of craftsmanship. The property also comes with historical ranch memorabilia.

The barn was built in 1898 on the Frances Smith homestead and was taken down log by log by Marshall and Mavis Pevey in 1938. The logs were transported on a wagon pulled by a team of oxen three miles to the barn's present site.

The home originally was built by a German carpenter for the McDermott family and moved from the Higbee Ranch on nearby Routt County Road 52W in 1988.

The home offers four bedrooms and 3.5 baths with plenty of rustic charm. However, because it is a historical house, buyers will note it doesn't have the floor plan one might find in a modern rural home. Although a large bar has been added to the kitchen area, the kitchen is small by modern standards.

After purchasing the property, Carl immediately began adding to the home and planting 400 plants, shrubs and trees.

Dana Carl runs a home remodeling and restoration business. His attention to detail shows throughout the house -- he went as far as removing all of the old brash hinges and hardware from the doors, stripping the paint and polishing them before reassembling.

The biggest addition is an oversized two-car garage that permits a 900-square-foot deck off the pantry that is covered in high-grade mahogany.

The work has continued during the Carls' tenure in the home. Windows have been replaced, staircases repaired and bathrooms remodeled.

Lynn Carl's keen eye for decorating and color schemes has transformed the old ranch house into a French country cottage. However, the downstairs family room has the look of a rustic hunting lodge, with a tinted concrete floor, gas fireplace and rough-hewn timbers and posts.

The water supply is a spring that produces a reliable flow of cold mountain water. Carl has modernized the water system since purchasing the property. It also comes with instream water rights from Smith Creek that irrigate a 17-acre pasture that is large enough to support horses. The water runs close to the house, and Carl has installed a 1,000-gallon holding tank so the large lawn and many plants can be irrigated easily without drawing on the domestic water supply from the spring.

The Carl property is 15 miles from Steamboat Springs, first via 10-miles of blacktop (County Road 129) with the last 5 miles traversed over RCR 54, a maintained gravel road. Carl said it is plowed frequently, and first thing in the morning during the winter months.

-- To reach Tom Ross call 871-4205

or e-mail tross@steamboatpilot.com