Henry S Persse built the Stone House in 1903 as a place to entertain guests while promoting his dream of creating a “splendid resort” at Roxborough. Mr. Persse died in 1918 along with his plans for the resort. His son, John, lived in the house for the next 20 years. After John Persse’s occupancy, the Stone House was abandoned for almost 40 years before Colorado bought the land for Roxborough State Park. During the interim, the roof leaked, the front porch and kitchen walls collapsed, windows and doors went missing. Vandals had removed the dedication stone containing the Persse Family crest from the east eve of the house.
Once the Colorado State Parks acquired the property, staff took temporary measures to protect the house from further deterioration by boarding up the doors and windows and installing rolled roofing over the original cedar shingles. The park manager put the word out that the stone was needed to restore the house and miraculously, it was found in a nearby ditch.
The Persse Place Stone House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. This designation enabled State Parks to apply for restoration funds in 1996 from the newly created State Historical Fund. The first grant was matched with state parks maintenance funds and paid for a new cedar shake roof, repointing the stone façade, re-constructing the front porch and lower-level walls and replacing windows and doors. The Persse family crest was returned to its original location.
A second State Historical Fund grant in 1997 funded the interior restoration. A new floor was installed on the lower level, the stairway reinforced and the parlor and dining room fireplaces were repaired. Swatches of the original wallpaper were used to find closely matching reproductions. A renovated historic heating stove and a cook stove were added to give the warm feeling of earlier times when Henry Persse welcomed guests to the Persse Place. Park volunteers continue this tradition by regularly hosting the Persse Place Open House.
The Friends of Roxborough State Park continue to support the park’s mission for restoration and refurbishment of this historic home for generations to come. Please consider helping us accomplish this mission by supporting some of our upcoming refurbishment and enhancement projects:
Projects ongoing to maintain this historic building and expand visitor experiences
✓ Paint for interior floors & stairs, Paint for exterior trim & porch
✓ Replace gutters & downspouts, maintenance on historic cedar roof
✓ Materials for repairing screens, windows & doors
✓ Gravel for new pathways around the house
✓ Materials for repair of log outbuildings
✓ Solar electrical power installation to support Digital A/V displays & equipment
✓ New and updated interior interpretive signs
✓ Maintain and repair antique furnishings