Spruce Tree House was one of the cliff dwellings excavated by the first archeologist to work in the Mesa Verde. In 1891, less than three years after the discovery, the Swedish archeologist, Baron Gustav Nordenskiold, was excavating in the cliff dwellings.

Nordenskiold, a member of the Swedish nobility, had read of the Mesa Verde ruins and had decided to excavate some of them. In July 1891, he arrived at the Wetherill ranch and hired John Wetherill as his guide and foreman. Three more men were hired as laborers and for four months the group excavated in the cliff dwellings.

Spruce Tree House bears Nordenskiold’s inscription, “Number 1 House.” Cliff Palace bears the inscription, “No. 2,” and in all, twenty-two ruins bear numbers left by Nordenskiold.

The archeological specimens recovered by Nordenskiold were taken to Sweden but at the present time are in the National Museum, in Helsinki, Finland. In the collection, as cataloged today, are about 600 specimens. While it is a good collection it does not deserve the fabulous reputation it has acquired. Although Nordenskiold reached the Mesa Verde in 1891, the finest things had already been taken out by the cowboys. His collection contained a number of outstanding specimens but in its entirety did not compare with the collections taken out by the cowboys themselves.