Tucked away in a quiet sunlit upstairs bedroom in the Highlands Ranch Mansion is a cabinet, a very beautiful vintage cabinet containing the history of Highlands Ranch depicted thru objects and information. The Mansion is the perfect venue to bring together the millions of years of history of the very land upon which it rests, condensed into such a small space. The property that was originally called Highlands Ranch by the last individual owner has now mushroomed into a community of almost 100,000 residents.
The cabinet itself is a beautiful piece of furniture, probably mahogany, with four glass shelves and a mirrored background. On each one of these shelves are small representative samples of various periods of Highlands Ranch history, starting at the cabinet top and working down.
Local history actually goes back millions of years to when this area was inhabited by dinosaurs. Not too far away west of the Mansion, on Wind Crest property during building excavations, the remains of three dinosaurs were found. Originally thought to be two triceratops and a hadrosaur, It has been discovered that the larger of the two dinosaurs was actually a torosaurus, which is very closely related to the Triceratops. The cabinet depicts the triceratops, and thus represents history going back literally 68 million years ago.
Fast forward 68 millions years to 140,000 years ago, when mammoths were the huge local animals, many of which were discovered at Lamb Spring, just a few miles to the west of Highlands Ranch. Highlands Ranch has a very long and prehistoric history just in these two major events.
Continuing thru the shelves–arrowheads and projectile points represent wandering tribes of Natives Americans who hunted on these lands.
In the 1800s the land saw an influx of traders, trappers, homesteaders and settlers, who obtained land and worked it for profit or for a living. One such famous landowner was Dad “Rufus” Clark, also known as “Potato” Clark, for the potatoes he grew and sold to the miners and trappers.
Other evidence of early local settlers include the Grigs homestead, currently located in the Back Country and the Cheese Ranch, which was famous throughout the region. The Big Dry Creek Cheese Ranch was settled by Austrian immigrants who turned it into a very busy working dairy farm making cheese which was enjoyed throughout the region. 
Back in the pioneer days, windmills were an extremely important part of life out here on this very arid high desert land. There were windmills throughout the area. Unfortunately very few windmills have survived to the present day. One will find windmill replicas still at the Cheese Ranch, at Wind Crest, and actually one of the most famous windmills in all the area is right here on the Mansion grounds. Known as the iconic symbol of Highlands Ranch, the stone windmill is right up at the top of the hill, overlooking the beautiful HR community below.
The history of Highlands Ranch continues on the lower shelves with the interesting community conversion from many small independent ranches into the consolidation under one main owner, the owner of the Mansion. This expansion has been happening since the Mansion itself was initially built in 1891 by Samuel Allen long. Long initially obtained hundreds of acres, and then as more smaller homesteads became available, Long would purchase them. This obtaining local properties continued from Long in 1891 up through the last individual owner of the Mansion, Lawrence Phipps, Jr. During Phipps ownership the property was named Highlands Ranch and was very definitely a cattle ranch with hundreds of cattle on the property. Also present were horses and it was very well known in the region as the home of the Arapaho Hunt Club.
When Phipps died in 1976 the entire Highlands Ranch was put up for sale, eventually being purchased by Mission Viejo from California, a large construction company. Once the property was purchased by Mission Viejo, then the development from a single owner into the multifamily community that it is now known began
This is depicted in the cabinet by keys. The first home was purchased, sold and closed in September of 1983.
C470 Highway opened in 1985. More homes and businesses were built.
Over the last 40 years, the community has thrived, with hundreds and now thousands of homes and residents, and has received numerous accolades for its schools, quality of life, and recreation centers.
The lowest shelf of the cabinet is depicting some of the different events that occur in today’s modern HR community, including the oversight of both HRCA and HRMD, with countless recreational activities. HR is recognized as one of the premier communities in the nation!
In addition the large area still left undeveloped, known as the Back Country is depicted. The Back Country is truly a wild area with many different types of native animals, such as bear, elk, coyotes, all living in harmony with the residents of Highlands Ranch. 
The Mansion Display Cabinet with HR History was a project of Marian Robinson, HR Historical Society Treasurer and Forrest Dykstra, HR Historical Society Director. Working together they found the perfect display vehicle (the cabinet) and the appropriate mini-models. Here is what they had to say about this historical depiction of HR:
- What is your favorite display?
“I like the pioneer era displays because we were able to incorporate several of the artifacts that the Historical Society has collected over the years.”
- What were the challenges to put it together?
“The biggest challenge in putting the display together was finding representative items to support the story that we wanted to tell.”
- What is the benefit to the HR visitor and the Mansion?
“ The mansion features displays and artifacts from the history of the building and its owners. The new display case complements the Highlands Ranch Mansion exhibits by telling the story of how our community came to be – from its earliest mammals to today.”
Upon your next visit to the Mansion, stroll on upstairs to the historic bedrooms and take a peek at the depiction of Highlands Ranch History in a cabinet.
..
Recent Comments