Conserving Character
03/24/2026 12:20PM ● By Suzi Mitchell & Deborah Olsen
Arianthé, Paul and Leah Stettner stand on the Monet-inspired bridge that Paul designed for the Yampa River Botanic Park.
The Arnold Barn, which stands at the entrance to Mount Werner Circle and the Steamboat Ski Area, has become a permanent landmark celebrating Routt County’s rural heritage. Less than a mile away is the More Barn, perhaps the most iconic structure in Steamboat Springs. Just around the corner from that is the Pine Grove Barn, also one of the oldest buildings in the community.
Arianthé Stettner likes to suggest that visiting the three barns sequentially makes a tidy tour of Routt County historic preservation. She has had a hand in the preservation of numerous Routt County structures, including both the More and Arnold barns. For more than five decades, she and her husband, Paul Stettner, have been cornerstones of Routt County.
“They are extremely capable and care a great deal about this town,” says Bob Enever, co-founder of Yampa River Botanic Park.
Arianthé’s passion for preservation is no secret. She co-founded Historic Routt County, served as a charter member on Routt County’s Historic Preservation Board and volunteered for the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, Colorado Preservation Inc., Save the Arnold Barn Committee, and has participated in many collaborations with the Tread of Pioneers Museum. In her seven years as a member of Steamboat Springs City Council, she helped to conserve the 3,800-acre Legacy Ranch, save the Mesa Schoolhouse and rehabilitate the Carver Power Plant.
The late Marty Alexandroff, who was director of the Tread of Pioneers Museum in the early 1990s, kindled Arianthé’s advocacy for historic preservation when she convened the first local historic preservation committee. That initial group included several prominent longtime residents who met on the porch of arts advocate Karolynn Lestrud.
Over the years, that committee evolved into the nonprofit Historic Routt County. Arianthé describes Marty as the “key-stone of the arch,” who had a special talent for putting the right people together to get things done.
“The American Way,” as Arianthé describes it, is to make way for something new, sometimes at the expense of the old, an outlook that Arianthé has spent much of her life trying to temper. “A city has no context without history,” Arianthé explains, citing British planner Graeme Shankland’s quote that “a city without old buildings is like a man with no memory."
“Without historic buildings, there is no ‘there’ there,” Arianthé says. “You could be anywhere.”
Routt County’s roots are humble, she notes, having sprung largely from “black gold,” aka coal mining. “Routt County was settled by working people, including many homesteaders and immigrants,” she says. Historically, those residents used what was available to build barns, houses and other structures that could be described as modest.
“I love the fact that we have these unique, quirky things,” she says. “I just don’t want to see us become ‘Generica’.”
Arianthé counts Paul’s first home in the valley as her initial foray into historic preservation. A serious adventurist and raconteur, Paul moved to town in the late 1960s to teach at the Lowell Whiteman School and bought an abandoned log house on YellowJ acket Pass, historically known as the La Jolla Inn. “We joked that when he first invited me to see his place, I said it had great potential and just needed fixing up, to which he replied, ‘It is fixed up! The roof no longer leaks,’” she says.
The duo restored the home together and it doubled as a base for Arianthé’s weaving studio and nationally known business, Arianthé/Kris, Handwoven. Paul’s attention in the early ‘70s focused on his role as an engineer for Dismuke & Dismuke, a local surveying company. “The ski area was just revving up and there was no planning commission. It was definitely the wild west for developers,” he says.
Adventure and wanderlust diverted the duo’s attention away from Routt County in 1974 to Iran. Paul worked on developing the National Water Plan and an agricultural feasibility study. After returning to Steamboat in 1976, Paul joined The Industrial Company, working in various aspects of construction management until he retired in 2003.
As the son of one of the greatest early mountain climbers, Paul’s appreciation for the outdoors and wild spaces runs deep. Throughout his tenure in Steamboat, he has participated in the Steamboat Water Commission, Botanic Park projects and the expansion of the Sarvis Creek Wilderness Area.
The Stettners look upon the town they call home with a sense of awe. “I recall a quote by Gloria Gossard about Routt County after World War II – ‘Last one leaving town ... please turn off the lights,’” Arianthé says. “I think she and others of their time would be amazed to see what’s become of Steamboat Springs today. Paul and I will keep doing our best to be thoughtful stewards of the historic places and landscapes of our community."
Editor’s Note: Each edition, the staff of Steamboat Magazine selects one or more locals to honor as examples of the strong sense of community that keeps Steamboat Springs genuine.
The Arnold Barn, which stands at the entrance to Mount Werner Circle and the Steamboat Ski Area, has become a permanent landmark celebrating Routt County’s rural heritage. Less than a mile away is the More Barn, perhaps the most iconic structure in Steamboat Springs. Just around the corner from that is the Pine Grove Barn, also one of the oldest buildings in the community.
Arianthé Stettner likes to suggest that visiting the three barns sequentially makes a tidy tour of Routt County historic preservation. She has had a hand in the preservation of numerous Routt County structures, including both the More and Arnold barns. For more than five decades, she and her husband, Paul Stettner, have been cornerstones of Routt County.
“They are extremely capable and care a great deal about this town,” says Bob Enever, co-founder of Yampa River Botanic Park.
Arianthé’s passion for preservation is no secret. She co-founded Historic Routt County, served as a charter member on Routt County’s Historic Preservation Board and volunteered for the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, Colorado Preservation Inc., Save the Arnold Barn Committee, and has participated in many collaborations with the Tread of Pioneers Museum. In her seven years as a member of Steamboat Springs City Council, she helped to conserve the 3,800-acre Legacy Ranch, save the Mesa Schoolhouse and rehabilitate the Carver Power Plant.
The late Marty Alexandroff, who was director of the Tread of Pioneers Museum in the early 1990s, kindled Arianthé’s advocacy for historic preservation when she convened the first local historic preservation committee. That initial group included several prominent longtime residents who met on the porch of arts advocate Karolynn Lestrud.
Over the years, that committee evolved into the nonprofit Historic Routt County. Arianthé describes Marty as the “key-stone of the arch,” who had a special talent for putting the right people together to get things done.
“The American Way,” as Arianthé describes it, is to make way for something new, sometimes at the expense of the old, an outlook that Arianthé has spent much of her life trying to temper. “A city has no context without history,” Arianthé explains, citing British planner Graeme Shankland’s quote that “a city without old buildings is like a man with no memory."
“Without historic buildings, there is no ‘there’ there,” Arianthé says. “You could be anywhere.”
Routt County’s roots are humble, she notes, having sprung largely from “black gold,” aka coal mining. “Routt County was settled by working people, including many homesteaders and immigrants,” she says. Historically, those residents used what was available to build barns, houses and other structures that could be described as modest.
“I love the fact that we have these unique, quirky things,” she says. “I just don’t want to see us become ‘Generica’.”
Arianthé counts Paul’s first home in the valley as her initial foray into historic preservation. A serious adventurist and raconteur, Paul moved to town in the late 1960s to teach at the Lowell Whiteman School and bought an abandoned log house on YellowJ acket Pass, historically known as the La Jolla Inn. “We joked that when he first invited me to see his place, I said it had great potential and just needed fixing up, to which he replied, ‘It is fixed up! The roof no longer leaks,’” she says.
The duo restored the home together and it doubled as a base for Arianthé’s weaving studio and nationally known business, Arianthé/Kris, Handwoven. Paul’s attention in the early ‘70s focused on his role as an engineer for Dismuke & Dismuke, a local surveying company. “The ski area was just revving up and there was no planning commission. It was definitely the wild west for developers,” he says.
Adventure and wanderlust diverted the duo’s attention away from Routt County in 1974 to Iran. Paul worked on developing the National Water Plan and an agricultural feasibility study. After returning to Steamboat in 1976, Paul joined The Industrial Company, working in various aspects of construction management until he retired in 2003.
As the son of one of the greatest early mountain climbers, Paul’s appreciation for the outdoors and wild spaces runs deep. Throughout his tenure in Steamboat, he has participated in the Steamboat Water Commission, Botanic Park projects and the expansion of the Sarvis Creek Wilderness Area.
The Stettners look upon the town they call home with a sense of awe. “I recall a quote by Gloria Gossard about Routt County after World War II – ‘Last one leaving town ... please turn off the lights,’” Arianthé says. “I think she and others of their time would be amazed to see what’s become of Steamboat Springs today. Paul and I will keep doing our best to be thoughtful stewards of the historic places and landscapes of our community."
Editor’s Note: Each edition, the staff of Steamboat Magazine selects one or more locals to honor as examples of the strong sense of community that keeps Steamboat Springs genuine.