"The Trappist monks arrived in the valley in 1956, drawn to the isolation and agricultural promise of land that had long supported ranching families. Much of the property was purchased from cattle-raising families whose names-Hart, Maurin, Gobos, Gate-remain embedded in the area's history. At the entrance to the property stood the Charles Hart ranch house, built in 1907, along with a barn, office, and equipment sheds whose brickwork and craftsmanship reflected the region's early twentieth-century prosperity."
"Construction of the monastery proper began almost immediately and was completed in 1958. Designed by the monks themselves, the green-brick structure followed the plan of a 12th-century Cistercian abbey, reflecting the Trappist order's emphasis on simplicity, silence, and austerity. Thick walls, arched windows, and modest cupolas evoked ancient religious retreats in France and Italy, translating medieval European monastic design into the high desert landscape of western Colorado."
St. Benedict's Monastery sits in a secluded valley outside Snowmass, Colorado, shaped by silence, prayer, and land stewardship for nearly seventy years. Trappist monks arrived in 1956, purchasing ranchland from longstanding cattle-raising families and repurposing existing buildings before building the monastery in 1958. The green-brick monastery followed a 12th-century Cistercian abbey plan emphasizing simplicity, silence, and austerity, with thick walls, arched windows, and modest cupolas adapted to the high desert landscape. The community expanded in the mid-1980s, maintained agricultural labor and quiet routines, and updated the roof in 2019 with fire-resistant CeDUR shakes.
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