Battlement Mesa

History

The community was first developed by an oil company as a residence for its workers in the expectation that the rising price of oil would make shale oil extraction economically viable. When adjusted oil prices fell, the housing estate was left as a stranded asset, and the oil company marketed it to retirees in conjunction with a real estate firm. The Battlement Mesa Schoolhouse, located at 7201 300 Road, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The rear portion of the building was built in 1897 with stone from a local quarry. The front portion was added in 1907, also using stone from the same quarry. By the late 1940s, the building was no longer used as a schoolhouse but was used for community gatherings and events. However, the local population declined, and the schoolhouse fell into disuse and was looted and vandalized. In 2003, the State Historical Fund awarded a grant to The Grand Valley Historical Society to restore the school building.

Geography

Battlement Mesa is located in Garfield County on the south side of the Colorado River. It is bordered to the northwest, across the river, by the town of Parachute. Interstate 70 passes through Parachute, providing access to Battlement Mesa from Exit 75. I-70 leads east to Glenwood Springs, the Garfield County seat, and southwest to Grand Junction. Denver is east via I-70. At the 2020 United States census, the Battlement Mesa CDP had an area of , including of water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  463
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  442
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  416
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  399
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  386
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  344
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  324
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  313

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2026-06-06
  10 km NE of Redstone, Colorado
• M 2.5 — 2026-04-04
  30 km NNW of Dotsero, Colorado
• M 2.8 — 2026-03-23
  29 km WNW of De Beque, Colorado
• M 2.6 — 2026-02-06
  12 km S of Mulford, Colorado
• M 2.5 — 2025-10-21
  22 km NNW of New Castle, Colorado
• M 3.2 — 2025-04-03
  34 km W of Delta, Colorado