Construction of the scenic Rim Rock Drive through the Monument was begun by the National Park Service about 1931 using workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the drive eventually was completed to join roads from Fruita and Grand Junction. The route from Fruita includes a winding road up Fruita Canyon and through two tunnels to the mesa (figs. [3], [44], [45]).

A modern Visitor Center, new housing facilities for park personnel, additions to the campgrounds, the Devils Kitchen Picnic Area near the East Entrance, several self-guiding nature trails, and additional overlooks and roadside exhibits were completed in 1964 as part of the Mission 66 program of the National Park Service.

The Monument originally included 13,749 acres, but boundary changes in 1933 and 1939 increased the total to 17,660 acres, and the inclusion of all of No Thoroughfare Canyon and other boundary adjustments in 1978 increased the size to about 20,457 acres, or about 32 square miles (see map, [fig. 3]).

Early History of the Region

Prehistoric People

John Otto, early explorers, and even the Ute Indians who once hunted in the area were by no means the first people to view the Monument, in fact they were “Johnnies-come-lately.” Considerable evidence indicates that prehistoric people inhabited the area thousands of years ago.

MAP OF COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT, showing location in Colorado, boundaries, streams, highways and roads, principal trails, named features, overlooks, and—in triangles—trip guides localities. The trip guides numbers correspond to the numbers in the right margins of the section entitled “Trips through and around the Monument.” Visitors are given pamphlets at the two entrance stations and may purchase other reports and maps at the Visitor Center. (Fig. 3)
[High-resolution Map]

Many years ago Al Look, of Grand Junction, discovered and excavated two caves in the part of No Thoroughfare Canyon formerly outside the Monument. He found stone projectile points, knives, awls, milling stones, parts of a sandal and coiled basket, reed matting, corn, corncobs, acorns, and animal bones, but no pottery—indicating that the people had not progressed beyond basket making. Similar artifacts were found in several other nearby places on the Uncompahgre Plateau. Archaeologists have named this old culture the Uncompahgre Complex, and date it back to a few thousand years before the time of Christ.[9] It should be pointed out that it is unlawful to remove artifacts, fossils, rocks, or minerals from a National Park or Monument.