Highlands Ranch

History

This area of the Colorado Front Range was populated by a number of nomadic tribes, including the Ute, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Because it was part of the Mississippi River Drainage Area, it was claimed by France by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and it was named as part of "Louisiana" in 1682. The Spanish gained Louisiana in 1763, and returned it to France in 1801. This area of what is now Northern Douglas County, was in the Louisiana Purchase when it was sold to the United States in 1803. The Stephen H. Long's Expedition of 1820 entered the area at the beginning of July 1820. That was the first documented exploration of the area by European or United States explorers. Much of the Denver Metro Area began to be settled as ranch land starting in 1859, but because of a lack of water in the area, it was not permanently settled until around 1870. The first legal settler of the area was Curtis H. Field, who purchased land just on the west side of Santa Fe Drive from the U.S. government on February 25, 1870. The Highlands Ranch Mansion (or "Castle Isabel") was built over a period of several years, from 1891 to 1904. The first owner of the house was Samuel Allan Long, who purchased a 40-acre homestead in northern Douglas County in 1884 and later expanded it to a 2,000-acre farm. By 1891 he had built a modest farmhouse on the property and called it Rotherwood after a boyhood farm. The name "Rotherwood", a reference to a boyhood farm of Long's, was found etched above the original front door that led experts to believe so. Long was a prominent innovator of dry land farming techniques in Colorado during the late 19th century. John W. Springer bought the ranch in 1898 and built the Highlands Ranch Mansion. He built it up to a 10,000 acre ranch and…

Geography

Located on Colorado State Highway 470 in central Colorado, Highlands Ranch is south of downtown Denver and north-northwest of Castle Rock, the county seat. As a suburb of Denver, Highlands Ranch is part of both the greater Denver metropolitan area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. It borders several other Denver suburbs including Littleton and Centennial to the north and Acres Green and Lone Tree to the east. In addition, Highlands Ranch borders Chatfield State Park to the west. As Highlands Ranch is a CDP, its boundaries are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau and have no legal standing. The Highlands Ranch CDP has an area of , including of water. }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  95,903
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  82,551
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  75,219
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  67,369
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  65,295
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  64,572
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  59,302
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  53,343

Largest nearby schools

• American Academy
  Elementary · CASTLE PINES · 2,559 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Rock Canyon High School
  High · HIGHLANDS RANCH · 2,377 students · 21.6:1 ratio
• Mountain Vista High School
  High · HIGHLANDS RANCH · 2,259 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Chaparral High School
  High · PARKER · 2,009 students · 19.5:1 ratio
• Castle View High School
  High · CASTLE ROCK · 1,990 students · 21.2:1 ratio
• Thunderridge High School
  High · HIGHLANDS RANCH · 1,881 students · 20.7:1 ratio
• Highlands Ranch High School
  High · HIGHLANDS RANCH · 1,538 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• STEM School Highlands Ranch
  Other · HIGHLANDS RANCH · 1,498 students · 20.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3 — 2025-10-17
  11 km NNE of Black Forest, Colorado
• M 2.7 — 2025-06-13
  7 km SE of Erie, Colorado
• M 2.5 — 2020-10-24
  2 km ESE of Georgetown, Colorado
• M 2.9 — 2008-02-26
  29 km WNW of Westcreek, Colorado