The Highlands Ranch Mansion is located in the Highlands Ranch Community, part of Douglas County, Colorado. The 27,000 square foot mansion is surrounded by 250 acres of ranchland in a beautiful suburban neighborhood around 20 miles southwest of Denver.
Highlands Ranch has a long and interesting history, which my husband and I learned about on a lecture and tour we attended at the mansion.
The ranch has a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains in the distance. At one time, most of the Front Range land west of the city of Denver became farm and ranchland, as settlers from the East came West.
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The first to settle in this area was Samuel Allen Long, who came from Pennsylvania in 1884 and filed a 40-acre Homestead claim. He expanded his claim to 2,000 acres a few years later and, in 1891, built a barn and farmhouse which he called Rotherwood Ranch.
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John W. Springer, a wealthy man with ties to politics, banking, and law, became the new owner from 1897 to 1913, and he renamed it to Springer Cross Country Horse and Cattle Ranch. He expanded the home to include a turret to give it a castle-like appearance. Springer became the first president of what was then called the National Livestock Association.
He became the area's largest landowner. He bought the property through a series of purchases while he was married to his first wife, Eliza Hughes Springer. The ranch grew to 12,000 acres, and Springer pursued his interest in show horses, raising rare German Oldenburg Coach Stallions. After his first wife, Eliza, died, and his second wife was involved in a murder scandal, he sold the Colorado ranch to Eliza's father, Colonel William E. Hughes, in 1913.
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In 1913, Hughes purchased John Springer’s Cross Country Horse and Cattle Ranch, changed the name to Sunland Ranch, and continued to operate it as a working ranch. At the time of his death in July 1918, it was estimated that Hughes was Colorado’s second-wealthiest man (the first being Lawrence Phipps, Sr.). Hughes bequeathed Sunland Ranch to his granddaughter Annie, who sold it two years later to oil tycoon Waite Phillips.
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Waite Philips purchased Sunland Ranch in 1920 and used it as a breeding location for high-grade horses and cattle. He consolidated the ranch with other nearby land purchases to create a prodigious spread called Phillips Highland Ranch, named after the Highland Hereford cattle he raised here.
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In 1926, Frank Kistler purchased Highland Ranch from Waite Phillips, renamed it the Diamond K Ranch, and began breeding operations that specialized in dairy and Angus cattle, sheep, chickens, and hogs. During his time living on the ranch, he did extensive renovations on the ranch, converting it from a castle to an English Tudor-style home.
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The last ranch owner was Lawrence Phipps, Jr., who named it Highlands Ranch. As one of the largest ranches in Colorado, it hosted the Arapahoe Hunt Club for more than 40 years. Upon Lawrence’s death in 1976, the ranch passed to his estate, which handled its sale to Marvin Davis, head of the Highlands Venturers Corporation.
Photo of the entire Highland Ranch Mansion
In 1978, Highland Venturers sold the property to Mission Viejo Company, and development of the modern community on 22,000 acres known as Highlands Ranch began. Mission Viejo sold Highlands Ranch to Shea Homes in 1997.
In 2010, Shea Homes gave the Highlands Mansion property, along with funds for renovation and an endowment, to the Highlands Ranch Metro District.
On June 15, 2012, the Highlands Ranch Metro District hosted the Grand Re-Opening of the Mansion.
The Highlands Ranch Mansion is open for free hours during the week and hosts many community events throughout the year. All public events and property operations are funded by private events hosted at the Mansion. It is also available to rent for weddings, corporate events, business meetings, and holiday parties.
We took a tour of the mansion's rooms that were available for viewing.
In total, the mansion features 14 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, 5 fireplaces, a great room, a ballroom, a dining room, a billiard room, a library, a butler’s pantry and kitchen, a private courtyard, and an elegant staircase
Many pieces of the original furniture from different owners still remain.
I liked the stained glass light fixtures and parquet wood flooring in these rooms.
The long hallway with an Italian terrazzo tile floor was used for dancing
Different dining areas are located in the mansion
The butler's pantry next to the main dining room was filled with interesting objects.
To see some historic photographs of the mansion, click here.
We enjoyed visiting the mansion and learning how it developed over the years and how the surrounding area grew over the last 45 years into a master planned community.
The Highlands Ranch Mansion is located at 9950 E. Gateway Dr., Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
Check its calendar for open historic tour days and special events.
Blogs I link with:
Nature Notes, Home Matters Linky Party, Happiness is Homemade, Monday Morning Blog Club, Weekend Traffic Jam Report, Senior Salon Pit Stop, Talk About It Tuesday, The Happy Now Tuesday, Happy Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday 2, Wordless Wednesday on Comedy Plus, Wonderful Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Skywatch Friday, Fantastic Friday, Farmhouse Friday, Crazy Little Lovebirds Friday Link Up, Dare to Share, Saturday Sparks, Saturday Critters,
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