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10/10/25
10/10/25
During my visit to Harvard Gulch Park, the day started out cloudy and rainy, but by the time I arrived, the sun had come out, making it a beautiful day to sit and relax. I worked on some homework with my friend on a picnic table near the center of the park and enjoyed the sun while it lasted. After we walked around for a while, I started researching the history of buildings like the rec center and clubhouse, as well as the general history of land use.
Harvard Gulch is a drainage basin of about 7.7 square miles, flowing west toward the South Platte River. Much of the land along the Gulch was for agricultural and farmstead uses. I didn’t find much on the land's connection to Native American history. Still, based on maps and the park's location, I can assume it used to be part of the traditional homelands of the Arapahoe Nation.
Thomas M. Field was a key figure in the park’s history, acquiring 80 acres along Harvard Gulch in 1871 to use as a farm and building a stone house known as the “Field House” in 1893. The house was sold to the state after he died, and in 1902, it became the State Home for Dependent Children. The institution expanded over time to include dormitories, barns, and infirmaries. I was shocked to learn that almost 17,000 children passed through this home before it closed in 1971.
Today, the state home has been transformed into Harvard Gulch Park, when the City of Denver purchased the property for redevelopment in 1978. The original plan was to use the old Field House as a community center, but it burned down on March 8, 1987. The park includes multiple football, soccer, and baseball fields, picnic areas, a playground, a golf course, a rec center, and a running/walking trail that I’ve taken every time I’ve come to the park.
Walking along the trail through the park, I thought about everyone who had been on the same grounds before me: the Arapahoe Nation, the orphans who lived in the home, farmers, and more. Learning about the history of the land that the park now sits on, I feel that I have a deeper understanding of the park itself and can appreciate it for more than just its flora and fauna, and lively energy.
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