Iconic windmill will be repaired

An iconic Highlands Ranch landmark was damaged in a June storm and may take months to repair.

During a heavy rainstorm on June 24, the Highlands Ranch Windmill, a large cobblestone structure that sits in the grassy hill south of the Highlands Ranch Mansion and north of Mountain Vista High Schoo, was struck by lightning and damaged by high winds.

A neighbor informed the Highlands Ranch Metro District, which owns the windmill, that the windmill’s blade had toppled over following the storm.  

The windmill is about 100 years old and its “vanes and mechanisms have been replaced several times over the years,” said Sherry Eppers, community relations manager of the Highlands Ranch Metro District.

“However, we don’t know if it was damaged in the past,” she said.

Eppers said it will likely take months to complete the analysis of the structure, determine the best course of action and follow up with repairs.

But earlier this week, metro district staff worked with a contractor to secure the part of the windmill that fell over.

The field stone windmill, said Nancy Linsenbigler, director of the Highlands Ranch Historical Society, is truly a beloved symbol for the community.

“During mansion tours,” she said, “one of the favorite places to stop and talk is the view of the windmill, with the sky above and the field below. Many visitors recognize it as the iconic feature of Highlands Ranch.”

History of the windmill

The historic windmill is part of the original 250 acres of Highlands Ranch. It’s also the site of a well that is now powered by electricity.

The ranch — which was once used for beef production, dairy operations, storage for cattle feed, lodging for ranch hands and maintenance activities — has a history of several prominent families and large transactions, according to the metro district’s website.

During the metro district’s 18-month mansion renovation from 2010-12, staff discovered the word “Rotherwood” etched in stone above the original door to the home.

The reference was traced to the mansion’s first owner, Samuel Allen Long, one of the first petroleum refiners in 1861 who was originally from Pittsburgh.  Long moved to Colorado in 1880 and had business endeavors in coal mining, gold mining, livestock, timber, real estate and farming. 

In 1888, Long acquired 2,000 acres for a homestead in Douglas County and called it Rotherwood after a childhood farm. Its etching is still visible directly above a small door located on the east porch of the mansion.

The mansion’s next owner was John Springer, who was politically involved and ran for mayor of Denver.

In 1913, Springer sold the ranch to his first father-in-law, Colonel Hughes. Hughes renamed the property Sunland Ranch. When he died in 1918, the land was passed to his granddaughter, who sold the mansion in 1920 to Waite Phillips, one of the brothers who founded Phillips Petroleum — the American oil company that is now ConocoPhillips.

In 1926, Phillips sold the mansion to Frank E. Kistler, who converted the ranch into a breeding ranch called the Diamond K Ranch.

In 1929, Lawrence C. Phipps Jr., of the Arapahoe Hunt Club, acquired the property and renamed it Highlands Ranch.

Phipps died in 1976 and the ranch was sold to Marvin Davis, of Davis Oil Corporation, for more than $13 million. In 1978, he sold the property to Mission Viejo Company, which Shea Homes purchased in 1997.

Shea Homes gave the mansion and funds for renovation to the Highlands Ranch Metro District in 2010 and the property opened for public use and event rentals in 2012.