Although the Spaniards were in the Mesa Verde region as early as 1765
and the Americans as early as 1859, it was not until 1872 that the
first settlement was made. In that year the Mancos Valley, lying at
the foot of the Mesa Verde, was settled, but because of the fact that
the mesa itself was a stronghold of the warlike Ute Indians, many
years passed before the cliff dwellings were discovered.
The ruins in the Mancos Canyon were discovered as early as 1874 when
W. H. Jackson, who led a Government party, found there many small
dwellings broken down by the weather. The next year he was followed by
Prof. W. H. Holmes, later chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
who drew attention to the remarkable stone towers also found in this
region. Had either of the explorers followed up the side canyons of
the Mancos they would have then discovered ruins which, in the words
of Baron Gustav Nordenskioeld, the talented Swedish explorer, are "so
magnificent that they surpass anything of the kind known in the United
States."
The largest cliff ruin, known as Cliff Palace, was discovered by
Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason while hunting cattle one December
day in 1888. Coming to the edge of a small canyon they first caught
sight of a village under the overhanging cliff on the opposite side,
placed like a picture in its rocky frame. In their enthusiasm they
thought it was a palace. With the same enthusiasm the visitors of
today involuntarily express their pleasure and surprise as they first
view this spectacular ruin.
Later these two men explored this ruin and gave it the name of Cliff
Palace, an unfortunate designation, for it is in no respect a palace,
but a community house, containing more than 200 living rooms, former
abodes of families, and 23 ceremonial rooms or kivas. They also
discovered other community dwellings, one of which was called Spruce
Tree House, from a large spruce tree, since cut down, growing in front
of it. This had eight ceremonial rooms and probably housed 300
inhabitants.
The findings of these two ruins did not complete the discoveries of
ancient buildings in the Mesa Verde; many other ruins were found by
the Wetherill brothers and other early explorers. They mark the oldest
and most congested region of the park, but the whole number of
archeological sites may reach into the thousands.
Only a few of the different types of ruins that have already been
excavated, repaired, and made accessible to the visitor are considered
herein. This excavation and repair was the work of the late Dr. J.
Walter Fewkes, formerly chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
with the exception of Balcony House, which was done by Jesse L.
Nusbaum. Hundreds of sites await scientific investigation, being
accessible now only on foot or horseback.