Indian Hills

History

John D. Parmalee (1813–1885) came to Colorado in 1860 and settled in Mount Vernon. In 1866, he was granted a charter for a toll road between Morrison and Bradford Junction (Conifer); the Denver and Turkey Creek Toll Road opened in 1870. Parmalee also operated sawmills and shingle mills in the area. He was later commissioned to build a road from Turkey Creek to Bergen Park, along what is known as Parmalee Gulch. In 1885, Parmalee sold his interest in the toll road to Benjamin F. Eden (1848–1932), who became tollgate keeper from 1877 to 1883. In 1886, Eden sold the road to Jefferson County. Eden bought properties in the northern end of Parmalee Gulch, which became known as Eden Park. In time he acquired more than , attracting the interest of developers. With the Panic of 1893 and crash in silver prices, the development foundered and Eden recovered the property. He continued to farm the area, raising cattle, horses, hay, and potatoes. George W. Olinger, son of mortuary founders John and Emma Olinger, became interested in the area in 1918, and purchased the Eden property in 1921. Olinger planned a development to be called "Indian Hills," and built a golf course on part of Eden's land. The first filing was recorded at Jefferson County in June 1923, making Indian Hills the community's official name. Filings were named to recall the association with original inhabitants: Arrowhead Park, Ute & Cherokee Village, and Shawnee Village. "Eden Park" became the fifth filing of Olinger's development, and was platted in 1926. Models of summer cabins were built of logs, and small lots were sold to Denver residents seeking summer homes in the mountains.

Geography

Indian Hills extends along the Parmalee Gulch and Myers Gulch Roads between State Highway 74 at Kittredge, Colorado, and U.S. Highway 285 at Turkey Creek. The Indian Hills CDP has an area of , including of water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  75,155
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  69,481
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  67,751
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  57,961
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  57,069
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  54,186
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  52,155
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  48,584

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