- In 1859, Dad Clark filed a 160-acre homestead on the site of today’s Highlands Ranch Golf Club. At the time, Colorado farmers had great success growing potato crops and Rufus decided to try his hand at it. His first harvest was so abundant that he became known as Colorado's “Potato King”. From 1891 to 1904, the first phase of the Highlands Ranch Mansion, originally called Castle Isabel, was built. Around that same time, property owner John Springer purchased additional land, bringing his total holdings to 23,000 acres. The acreage changed hands several more times until 1937, when Lawrence C. Phipps, Jr., son of a U.S. Senator from Colorado, bought it for cattle ranching. After Phipps' death, the property was owned briefly by Highland Ventures and then by Mission Viejo Company in 1978. In 1981, the Phil and Kaye Scott family led a group of "pioneer" homeowners to the Highlands Ranch we know today, where homes were built and districts were created.
A new era of ownership was heralded in August 1997 as Shea Homes purchased the property and began the vital community we enjoy today!
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