Concrete:       

A construction material comprised of cement and aggregate, concrete gained popularity in the twentieth century, substituting for southeastern Colorado’s traditional use of sandstone and adobe as primary building materials. As the availability of cement increased with new railroad and town infrastructure throughout the region, settlers found concrete to be a welcomed alternative to the slower drying adobe. The homesteaders of early twentieth century combined sandstone construction with concrete mortar and concrete foundations for durability and longevity; the appeal of concrete led some settlers to build entire structures from the material, including cisterns, outbuildings and even houses.

Dugout:               

A type of dwelling sunken into the earth, usually a few feet deep, with earth walls and a dirt floor. Interior walls were dampened with water and packed hard to help prevent the dirt from flaking. More elaborate dugouts were lined with stone walls and might have superstructures of stone or log. Roofs were often also earthen, with log beams supporting packed dirt and smaller branches. Dugouts were usually the first structures constructed by homesteaders venturing to the region of southeast Colorado; after a year or two, more substantial dwellings would be constructed, either in addition or separate from the original dugout.

Jacal        

 A Native American form of architecture adopted by New Mexicans and Anglo-Americans in southern Colorado, consisting of a wall of closely spaced wood posts tied together with adobe with adobe filling any spaces. Slender posts (often pinon) were placed into the earth and tied with wire are common of the jacal construction among the homesteads of southeastern Colorado. Simple to construct, jacals were often the first structures built on a homestead. Jacals are found in combination with stone and adobe architecture, either as the original structure or as an easy addition.

Sandstone     

A local sedimentary rock to southeastern Colorado, sandstone was the masonry material most commonly used in architecture across the region. Sandstone could vary in size, with some dwellings using narrow, rectilinear stones while others incorporated larger square stones with small stone chinking in between irregular coursing. Sandstone was typically double-laid, with a layer of adobe and chinking in between the exterior and interior layers of the wall. Sandstone was incorporated into almost every settlement across southeastern Colorado due to its availability, practicality, and durability.

 Vigas and Latillas    

The New Mexican style of architecture included a flat roof composed of vigas and latillas; large, equally spaced, vertical logs (vigas) were covered by smaller horizontal timbers (latillas). The vigas, typically hand-hewn ponderosa or cottonwood, usually extend beyond the structural walls. The horizontally laid latillas form the surface of the roof and were commonly covered with mud and stone. The relatively simple construction, as compared to gable roof types, made this New Mexican roof type a common feature among southeastern Colorado architecture.

Wood
Frame houses, Railroad ties, Hand-hewn red cedar logs                   

A construction material incorporated in much of the architecture across southeastern Colorado, wood served many uses, when available. Common throughout the region were hand-hewn timbers and logs. Large timbers, usually ponderosa or cottonwood, could only be found within canyons, and these large members were frequently constructed as roof beams. However, the scarcity of large timbers made entire log buildings rare to this region, and when large timbers were unavailable, settlers also adaptively reused railroad ties, even constructing entire homes and outbuildings with railroad ties.. Smaller timbers, often pinon, were used for corrals and fencing, jacal-designs, and horizontal roof surfaces (latillas). With the railroads, milled lumber was easier to obtain. Milled lumber became widely used for door and window frames, flooring and roof construction. As milled lumber increased in availability and popularity, frame houses also offered appeal to homesteaders; although lacking the warmth and resiliency of native masonry, frame houses could serve as a status symbol, comparable to the modern houses of the eastern United States.