The Rourke Ranch Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, is a striking example of a late 19th century cattle ranching enterprise that played a significant role in the settlement and agricultural development of the Purgatoire River area and reflects the interaction of Hispanic and Euro-American settlers. All buildings and ruins constructed prior to 1920 are contributing elements, and the mixture of building materials and styles at the ranch headquarters illustrates the intermingling of cultures. After the 1904 flood destroyed the Rourke family's original stone masonry home, they relocated to higher ground, where their Ranch House of adobe brick was completed in late 1904 or early 1905. Built by a Hispanic workman, the house incorporated vernacular architectural traditions from northern New Mexico, termed the Territorial Style, including the original flat roof, the linear arrangement of the three rooms forming the core of the house, long covered porches called portals, and parabola-shaped adobe fireplaces; later, a gabled roof and exterior cement stucco were added to reduce upkeep, and the cellar was the only feature without Hispanic origins. The Adobe Doghouse was constructed by about 1910, and the Adobe Bunkhouse was constructed before 1920, with its original adobe roof supported by log framework called vigas and closely spaced cottonwood poles called latias, now hidden beneath metal sheeting and a corrugated tin roof added in the 1950s. The Stable and the Barn were built from logs before 1908; although log construction usually occurs in areas above 7,000 feet, it was also found along the Purgatoire River Valley, where elevations average about 4,500 feet, because settlers had access to large cottonwood trees. After Eugene Rourke died in 1918, his son Harry and daughter Frances bought out the other family members and continued operating the ranch, and Frances managed it after Harry's death in 1929. During the 1930s drought that contributed to the Dust Bowl, severe economic problems struck ranchers in southeast Colorado, and while many operations failed as cattle starved from lack of water and forage, surviving ranchers such as the Rourkes acquired failed ranches' lands at bargain prices, allowing their holdings to grow. In 1948, Eugene Rourke's grandson Robert Bud Sabin took over management, and the Rourke family sold the ranch in 1971.