Ordway Pharmacy & Bent’s Old Fort Added to Most Endangered Places List

 By Norman Kincaide

During Colorado Preservation Inc.’s (CPI) 29^th Saving Places Conference, February 11-13, 2026, Ordway Pharmacy and Bent’s Old Fort were added to the Most Endangered Places list. The Ordway Pharmacy at 231 Main Street, has stood empty since 2020 when it moved across the street. It had been the cornerstone of daily life for residents of Crowley County for 100 years. Generations of families passed through its doors, making it a cornerstone of daily life for the residents of Crowley County.

Ordway Pharmacy is Crowley County’s first-ever nomination to Colorado’s Most Endangered Places. Decades of use have taken their toll on the building. Its roof is failing and its brick walls are crumbling, but the town is determined to save the building. Allowing it to deteriorate may affect the adjacent structures. The owner of record is T.J. Jackson of 311 Main Street, Ordway, CO.

The town of Ordway leases its owned Main Street buildings at low rates to new businesses. If they succeed, the town signs the property over. Once stabilized, the plan is to turn it into Ordway’s first laundromat since 2004, complete with a snack counter and arcade.

Bent’s Old Fort NHS was also added to CPI’s Most Endangered Places. The current structure was dedicated on July 25, 1976, during heightened national reflection as the United States marked its Bicentennial and Colorado celebrated its Centennial. The reconstruction of Bent’s Old Fort was an effort to reconnect the public with the complex borderlands histories that shaped the American West.

As Bent’s Fort enters its 50^th year, decades of weathering, wear, and the complex mix of materials used in the 1970s reconstruction have raised significant structural concerns. Compressed dirt, wood, plaster, concrete, and composites, all aging differently make repairs on Bent’s Fort complex and expensive. The National Park Service has restricted access to guided tours through only a small, safe portion of the building to protect both visitors and the structure. CPI is working with the National Park Service, History Colorado, the City of La Junta, Otero County, and other local stakeholders to explore the possibilities of preservation. This issue further illustrates the huge backlog of maintenance issues for National Park Service units.

The Adobe Stables at the Arkansas Valley Fair Grounds in Rocky Ford are also among the 110 or so projects on the Most Endangered Places Project List. These stables are in constant need of repair and no horses have been stabled there for several years. Many of the stables along the access road are now unsafe structures. The article on the CPI’s listing states these stables are a top priority of the City of Rocky Ford. The top priorities of small towns in Colorado may shift to actual infrastructure, streets, sidewalks, lighting, police and firefighting services, water treatment, sewage disposal and other necessary functions. Unoccupied adobe stables are not as important as upgraded and expanded seating around the grandstands and recently completed sidewalk replacement on North Main Street leading to the fairgrounds. Nobody stands in line to look at adobe stables. They stand in line to pay to see the Figure 8s and the Demolition Derby.

Being added to the Most Endangered Places list does not guarantee grant funding for a specific project. “The Most Endangered Places Program was developed as an advocacy tool and does not come with financial gains. CPI is not part of the State Historical Fund, and the listing of a resource does not guarantee future funding.”

Preservation of structures is very expensive especially if the structure is to be preserved within its historic timeframe and architectural era. All of the listed compete for grant funding. Individual communities must make hard and at times difficult decisions on what to preserve and what needs demolition.

Small towns with many derelict structures find these buildings are subject to vandalism, arson, and unsightly decay. A renovated structure must be occupied by a viable business or service that provides a return on the investment in restoration or preservation. Unlike Ordway’s hopes for their Pharmacy, buildings like El Capitan, McKenzie, 504 North Main Street and Liberty School in Rocky Ford are beyond any financially recuperative restoration and should be demolished to provide room for 21^st Century structures.

Sources

Colorado Preservation Inc., Most Endangered Places Program webpage

Colorado Preservation Inc., February 2026 Newsletter

Most Endangered Places Nomination Form, Ordway Pharmacy, July 14, 2025

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