"One of the last remaining examples of farm operations in Boulder County, the Shannon Farm is representative of the shift in agriculture from crop cultivation to dairy and egg production. It was operated for many years by the Shannon brothers who were innovative in their use of a concrete-floored milk room within the barn, meeting sanitary standards twenty-five years before the passage of pasteurization laws in Colorado. Additionally, the Shannon Farm is an intact example of agricultural-related buildings, some of which display excellent craftsmanship, design, and materials in their construction." (from (
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When the last remaining 40 acres of the Shannon Farm went up for sale in 1999 - 2000, concerns arose that developers would purchase the farm, but not preserve the endangered historic farm buildings.
At the request of the farm’s longtime owners, the Boulder County Commissioners approved a subdivision exemption plat, for the purpose of creating a small parcel to facilitate the historic preservation of the existing farm structures, prior to the sale of the remainder of the farm
The farmstead parcel includes the farmhouse, the privy, the pump house, the clay tile dairy milking barn and silo, a studs-out granary and a grout chicken house/milkhouse. The farm buildings are listed as Boulder County Landmarks. Shannon farm is also listed on the National and State Register of Historic Places.
Robert and Carol Affleck purchased the farmstead with the fragile historic buildings in 2000. With their experience as a Contractor and Designer, they have carefully restored each building over the last ten years, with the help of other expert craftsmen.
The rural historic landscape includes some of the existing historic plants, including grapevines, rhubarb, gooseberries, and a large patch of historic yellow roses, said to have been brought to Boulder County by pioneer settlers. The new owners have planted a kitchen garden, a tea garden, and a large vegetable and flower garden." (from (
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The NRHP form may be found at (
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"The property that is known as Shannon Red Barn Farm today, was homesteaded in the early 1870’s.
Subsequent owners, among others, included notable Coloradans William Davidson, Henry Teller and W.A.H. Loveland, as well as the Rosenbaum, Hodgson, Andre, and Wood families.
The Shannon brothers, Frank and Roy, purchased the property in 1918, after returning to Boulder County from World War I. Since that time the land has continually been used for agricultural purposes, including cropping of hay and sugar beets. The Shannon brothers operated a large Holstein dairy. They sold milk and eggs, and cultivated vegetables and flowers, grapes and a fruit orchard.
Mrs. Rhodora Shannon was not only a farm wife, but she was a teacher at Valmont School, she started a Sunday School at Canfield, she was a musician and a music teacher and she was Boulder’s first lady taxi driver. The Shannon’s attended the Valmont Presbyterian Church and held church and community socials at the farm.
Sylvia Manchester, Mrs. Shannon’s niece, inherited the farm in 1949. Sylvia and her husband, Herman Manchester, lived on a farm at 75th and Valmont. They rented Shannon farm to tenant farmers until Sylvia sold Shannon Farm in 2000." (from (
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