Imogene MacPhearson lived an exciting, entrepreneurial life in early America. During the Civil War she bravely crossed into the Confederate South to rescue her husband when he was ill in a Union Camp, and she was integral in helping to build one of the first veteran’s hospitals.

Years later, MacPhearson set out west to spend some time in the Rocky Mountains, eventually staying at Sprague’s dude ranch. She instantly fell in love with the Estes Park area and purchased a homestead in Moraine Park, later expanding this property to become a tourist destination. Opened in 1910, Imogene’s Moraine Park guest property had cabins, a livery stable, a main lodge, and a dining room, which she ran by herself.

The only building of the Moraine Park Lodge remaining today is the Assembly Hall, built in 1923. When the National Park Service purchased the property in 1931 it was transformed into the Moraine Park Visitor Center.