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The Retreat
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| Retreat HistoryContents of this page
And here are some other printed articles from the Estes Park Library and Museum and the Glen Haven Historical Society (pdf files, Adobe Reader required) A Piece of Earth to Live With (577kB) Homestead claims in the Goodwin Family (798kB) Profile of Lynn T. Wells and Walter Maitland (2.1 MB) Reminiscences of a Pioneer (55kB) Stories about Lord Dunraven (135kB) Stories about the flood (66kB) Stories of Glen Haven (96kB)
Ann Martin November 2003 The Retreat is uncommon land, rich in geologic history. Here is an opportunity to enjoy the quiet rewards of mountain living. Shaded glades and flowered meadows offer contrast to the soaring heights and ragged peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park. Here, Man is still a visitor, sharing the land with history and nature. Here the pride of ownership in Colorado land and the satisfaction of preserving an environment go hand in hand." This is a quote from an early brochure enticing people to buy land in the Retreat. Wild animals and birds made this piece of earth their home in the early years. There was also the occasional Indian who has tracked through the area to hunt. After the Homestead Act of 1862 many names can be found in the records for various areas of what is now The Retreat. Early Homesteaders Oscar S. Herron was one of the first homesteaders in the area. In 1878, he homesteaded 160 acres around both entrances to The Retreat. However, he did not "prove up" the land or his claim. The same land was later (1902-04) homesteaded by Frank Goodwin and Theodore Bryant. The Bryant ranch house appears on two maps, one from 1905 and one from 1910 at the mouth of Miller Fork Creek. Bryant and his wife each filed for 160 acres along both sides of the county road, from the old Dunraven Glade entrance to past the Miller Fork entrance. The Goodwins, Frank, Elizabeth, Jesse, Bryon and Arthur, each filed for 160 acres between 1902 and 1909. They later acquired an additional 80 acres, for a total of 880 acres. They owned about 60% of what is now The Retreat, from both entrances up both Dunraven and Miller valleys. The main ranch house was just across and to the left of the Dunraven Glade Bridge. A 1905 map shows the house with one or two more buildings up Dunraven Glade. One of these was the first sales office for The Retreat. It burned in the early 1970s. Levi Johnson settled along the Copper Hill and Miller Fork junction. Mark Bartholf and Jasper Sylvester had their 160 acres around the trailhead at the end of Dunraven Glade Road. Samuel P. Knapp was another homesteader in the area. He was one of the leaders in the founding of Glen Haven. There were other homesteaders in The Retreat, but these held about 90% of the land. The Maitland Family With the passage of time and the arrival of the Maitland family the land passed into their hands. Walter Maitland’s parents arrived in Colorado in 1916. Along with the Maitlands, George Fuller and Robert Jamison ran sheep on the ranch. This operation was abandoned after WW1. Dr. Maitland became the sole owner of the ranch and stocked it with Hereford cattle. Walter and Ruth Maitland settled here in 1952 to continue the cattle operation. Maitlands had a Forest Service permit to provide them summer grazing for 75 head of cattle for three months on the Deserted Village and Miller Fork allotments. In 1967, Maitlands sold 320 acres in the Deserted Village area to the Forest Service. Escape Properties, LTD Lynn T. Wells and family of Boulder searched the area for two or three acres of land for weekend family recreation. After reading about the acreage near Glen Haven, they explored the area and returned many times. Impressed with the area, Wells started seeing its recreational potential. The concept for the future Retreat started during those walks on the property. Wells obtained his broker’s license and began a full brokerage operation in Boulder under the name of Dimension Investments. Escape Properties LDT was formed as a part of Dimension Investments. After exploring the area of the Maitland ranch, he decided this was an area he wanted to develop. Wells had a PhD. in Engineering Mechanics from Ohio State University. He became president of Escape Properties LTD. Roderic Romero had a MS in Electrical Engineering from MIT. Both men and their families lived in Boulder. Wells and Romero resigned from Bell Telephone Laboratories in Denver. According to Wells, over half of the start-up capital was raised through investments by professors at Ohio State University. Most of the balance came from engineers at Bell Laboratories locations in New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, and Denver. Dorene Romero, sister of Roderic Romero, became the Public Relations Director. The first salesman was Ernie Conard, who still has a realty business in Glen Haven. Other sales staff included Mark Miller, Phil Stewart, Phil Palmer and Dave Lamb. In 1971, the Walter Maitland 1,730-acre ranch was purchased for the subdivision. The purchasers, Escape Properties LTD of Boulder, planned to subdivide the land into cabin sites ranging from two to twenty acres. The property was purchased for $875,000. A down payment of $60,000 was made with Maitland carrying the financing. As each filing was ready to sell, Maitland received a payment and then released that filing from the original deed of trust. The Maitlands were very much involved with the direction of the development of The Retreat. Maitland had to approve each plat before they could be submitted to Larimer County for approval. The Retreat was originally developed with summer cabins in mind. It was not intended for primary homes. The lot and road designs were planned so that each lot had at least one building site. The goal was that no trees would have to be cut down. It was impossible to fulfill this goal and avoid all trees. After roads were cut, embankments were reseeded with hundreds of pine trees. The closing for the purchase took place in Denver at the Office of Donald Giacomini, Maitland’s attorney. Also in attendance at this meeting were Mrs. Ruth Maitland, Lynn T. Wells, Roderic Romero, and attorney John W. Young, representing Escape Properties LTD. and Don Weixelman and Arnold Davis, representing United Farm Agency of Ft. Collins. Individual lots were on a contract for the deed. It was thought to be 8.5% financing for eight years. The deed was held for a contracted period of time or until the property was paid off or sold. These contracts were used as collateral by being pledged to the bank. The bank (United Bank of Denver) then agreed to a construction loan for the duration of development. The bank advanced the money to go on to the next filing. Financial troubles begin sometime after the third filing. The bank’s money tightened up and they would not honor their commitment. Maitland and Welles attempted to get the bank to change its mind. This did not happen even though The Retreat was having great sales. Times were tough for all construction related services in the mid 1970s. Filings 4 and 5 were completed. Contractors involved in the roads, telephone poles, and almost every service agreed to take contracts instead of cash for payment. Estes Park Electric was the only service that insisted on cash. A private investor agreed to take the contracts and paid Estes Park Electric in cash. It was financially impossible for any further development of The Retreat after the completion of Filings 4 and 5. The investors and Maitlands settled for contracts and the remaining lots for payment in full. Maitlands also got back 825 undeveloped acres. After development progressed it was discovered that VTN, the surveying company who did the original boundary survey, had made some serious errors. All of the lots were designed from this survey. These errors made some of the lots smaller than represented. VTN was sued. After two years, the suit found that VTN would have to buy back the properties that were affected if the owners desired it. A summary of the fillings is as follows: Filing 1 374 acres 11/10/71 Filing 2 183 acres 07/19/72 Filing 3 164 acres 04/03/73 Filing 4 115 acres 06/07/73 Filing 5 15 acres 10/03/73 For a total of 850 acres. Water Water is of utmost importance to any land development venture. Test wells were dug at both ends of Dunraven Glade Road. They were successful. There are 34 surface springs on Retreat property. There is also an underground stream running along the south side of Dunraven Glade Road. A letter from Escape Properties, Ltd. Dated June 14, 1974, stated the approval of Water Augmentation Plan for The Retreat, Filing 3, 4, and 5 and all-future filings. The Water Court of the State of Colorado approved the Plan on May 23, 1974. Landowners in Filing 1 and 2 were not affected since they purchased their property prior to the adoption of the regulation requiring Water Augmentation Plans. According to the Water Augmentation Plan, water consumed by landowners must be replaced by other water sources within the same water district. The amount of water expected to be consumed by landowners is calculated by estimating the average number of gallons needed for each individual well and sewage disposal system. Escape Properties, Ltd. purchased ample water rights in 1973 so landowners in Filings 3, 4, and 5 would be able to obtain well permits and build on their properties even if they were to be year-round residents. As more families built and moved into The Retreat, there has been increased interest in ample water supplies. The initial concerns are the depth of the well and the capacity. Some wells in The Retreat have an almost unlimited supply and others have only marginal or unsatisfactory flow rates. The marginal wells can sometimes be utilized by increasing above ground storage volume along with intelligent water consumption. Some homes have water trucked in. Maitland Lawsuit According to the Estes Park Trail Gazette dated October 29, 1975, Escape Properties LTD. was named in a lawsuit by Walter and Ruth Maitland. The complaint was filed in Larimer county District Court asking for foreclosure proceedings for alleged unpaid notes of $595,597.20. Also named, as defendants in the complaint were the Town of Estes Park, MLC Corporation, Inc., the United Bank of Denver, the Larimer County public trustees and another 140 individuals. The 140 individuals and the town of Estes Park were named as they might claim interest in portions of land the Maitlands wanted foreclosed. The Maitlands alleged Escape Properties, Ltd. bought the land in 1971 for $778,500. Maitlands claim the purchasers now owe them nearly $600,000 on the aggregate unpaid principal of promissory notes with the accrued interest. Archaeological Digs On April 6, 1978, Ross Mosier of the Arapaho Roosevelt National Forests Supervisors Office contacted Gordon and Krangush, Archaeological Consultants of Boulder, Colorado with a report of the exposure of a prehistoric site in Roosevelt National Forest, Larimer County. Mosier requested a visit to the site to evaluate the validity of the report and if necessary, design and implement protective measures to avoid further damage to the site. The site was uncovered during road improvement and reconstruction activities on Dunraven Glade by Ramsour Construction Company. Gordon and Krangush visited the site for the first time on April 7, 1978. The site area was located in a low, southwest terrace above Dunraven Glade. It was on the southeast edge of Bulwark Ridge at the elevation of 7,160 feet. A rock-lined hearth and ten artifacts were the cultural materials discovered at the site. The artifacts recorded consisted of seven collected specimens, 2 lithic artifacts that were lost or stolen between April 7 and 13, a groundstone fragment left in situ to preserve feature integrity for future studies. The two missing artifacts were a small, oval mano of a dense granitic material and a chert-thinning flake. A charcoal sample taken from the hearth yielded a date of 2,040 plus or minus 45 years. Some of the artifacts included a right mandibular fragment of an unidentified artiodactyl, possibly a mountain sheep, a bone fragment that could not be positively identified, a splintered large mammal longbone fragment, and a large mammal longbone fragment with evidence of human modification. The recommendation was that testing commence immediately to provide for maximum data retrieval prior to additional site erosion or vandalism. It was thought that the vertical bank would erode and collapse with time and summer rainstorms could be expected to accelerate the process. The archaeologists felt the site’s potential for fielding significant data to the prehistory of this area appeared to render it eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. It appears no further action was taken. Burials The only known burial in The Retreat area is that of Charles D. Miller on May 17, 1871. Miller and his friend, Charles W. Dennison, were hunting deer in the area. Dennison’s gun accidentally fired and killed Miller. Since there were no roads and few trails in the area it was not possible to remove Miller’s body. Dennison buried his friend near the location where he died. Miller became on of the first recorded deaths in the Estes Park area. His burial site is on private property at the Streamside Drive entrance to the Retreat. In 1929, Harold Marion Dunning and Lucas Brandt of Loveland located Miller’s grave and erected a monument. Miller Fork Creek and Miller Fork Road were named in his honor. Miscellaneous Lee Siddons, 35, of Boise, Idaho died when his helicopter crashed in a ravine on Escape Properties about two miles northeast of Glen Haven. Twenty-five Fort Collin Mounted Sheriff’s Posse discovered the wreckage a day later. This event happened in September 1972. The First Retreat Landowners Annual Meeting The first Retreat Landowners Association Annual Meeting convened on Feb. 27, 1973 at the Community Room of the Boulder Public Library. Attendance was good, with nearly 50 landowners in attendance, representing roughly one-half of the in-state owners and one-third of the total Retreat membership; The meeting was highlighted by discussions on the desirability of the RLA purchasing 20 acres surrounding the Dunraven entrance into the Retreat as a common area. The area under consideration includes prime river frontage along the North Fork, a half acre stocked pond and a 4 room cabin with a loft, recently renovated (it burned down in 1975). (NOTE: It's a shame nothing fruitful came from this discussion) Originally there were also developer plans to put in a stable and two tennis courts. Elected at this meeting: President Lloyd Angell; Vice-President' William Rosenberg; Treasurer J. Lloyd Jones; Corresponding Secretary Barbara Betts. The preliminary plat for Filing 3 was accepted on March 1, 1973. Twelve wells have been drilled at the Retreat to date, with an average depth of 155 ft. and a median yield of 50 gallons per hour. (these numbers exclude the deepest and shallowest wells and their yields: 505 ft. with 19gph and 35 ft. with 96 gph.) Over 1000 Ponderosa seedlings were planted at the Retreat on southern slopes in Filings 1 and 2. (Example can be seen at Elkridge-Dunraven Glade intersection).
The
Retreat Heritage It was 125 years ago - in 1871 and 1872 - that two men whose names were to be left on the land first came to The Retreat. One of them stayed forever; the other returned many times. On May 17, 1871, Charles D. Miller and his close friend, Charles W. Dennison, were hunting deer. Dennison's gun accidentally discharged, fatally wounding Miller. In those days there were no roads and few trails into this area, and it was impossible to move Miller's body, so his dear friend laid him to rest ; near the spot where he died. Miller thereby became one of the first recorded deaths in the Estes Park area, buried near our own Retreat. In 1929, Harold Marion Dunning and Lucas Brandt of Loveland located Miller's grave and erected a monument to his memory. It is situated on the Brandt property, described as being "about five miles above the Forks Hotel," which was in Drake. This historic site is on private property at the Streamside Drive entrance to The Retreat. Miller Fork Creek and Miller Fork Road live on in Charles Miller's memory. Another early Retreat resident was Windham Thomas Wyndham Quin, better known as Lord Dunraven, of County Limerick, Ireland. In 1872, he came to the Estes Park area and, in what many think was a fraudulent scheme, acquired nearly 15,000 acres for a private hunting reserve. In 1877, he built a cottage, which still stands about a mile up Fish Creek from Highway 36, and a 50-room English Hotel nearby, which burned to the ground in 1911. He is reported to have built his personal hunting lodge - his own Retreat - along Dunraven Glade in 1874. Local history records a rumor that he also built a whiskey cellar (cave) next to his lodge. Some describe the site as being near where the Deserted Village is found today. However, Joseph G. Knapp, in his book The Glen Haven Story reports that his uncle took him on hikes along Dunraven Glade and pointed out where the lodge had once stood. The map on the back of Knapp's book places the site in the area of the parking lot at the end of Dunraven Glade Road. For years, local folks have been trying to find the "Whiskey Cave." It's possible that the Knapp map is not accurate and that a Retreat landowner may uncover or discover this historical site while hiking, or while building his own "Retreat." In 1877, Dunraven was run out of the area by mountain men and settlers contesting his land claims. He returned briefly in the early 1880s to sell his remaining holdings to F. O. Stanley and B. D. Sanborn. Lord Dunraven left his name on our beautiful glade, on a mountain and lake at the end of the North Fork of the Big Thompson, and on a pass in Yellowstone National Park. In an attempt to learn about some of the other early settlers, I have searched land records at the Larimer County Courthouse and found the names of six of these homesteaders: Oscar S. Herron, Theodore E. Bryant. the Goodwin family, Levi Johnson, Mark Bartholf and Jasper Sylvester. Oscar Herron was the first in 1878. He homesteaded 169 acres around both entrances to The Retreat; however, he evidently did not "prove up" the land or his claim, for the same land was later (1902-1904) homesteaded by Frank Goodwin and Theodore Bryant. Bryant's Ranch house appears on two maps, one from 1905 and one from 1910, at the mouth of Miller Fork Creek. Bryant and his wife each med for 160 acres along both side of the county road, from the old Dunraven Glade entrance to past the Miller Fork entrance. Included were the hills south of the junction of Miller Fork and the North Fork. All remains of the ranch have long since vanished. The Goodwins - Frank, Elizabeth, Jesse, Byron and Arthur - each filed for 160 acres between 1902 and 1909; they later acquired an additional 80 acres, for a total of 880 acres. They owned about 50% of what is now The Retreat, from both entrances up both Dunraven and Miller valleys. Their main ranch house was just across and to the left of the Dunraven Glade Bridge. The 1905 map shows the ranch along with one or two more buildings up Dunraven. This was the first sales office for The Retreat; it burned in the early 19708. Levi Johnson settled around the Copper Hill and Miller Fork junction, while Mark Bartholf and Jasper Sylvester had their 160 acres around the trailhead at the end of Dunraven Glade Road. There were other homesteaders in The Retreat, but these six held about 90% of the land. One remaining mystery: I cannot account for about 120 acres covering Elk Ridge from about the junction of Miller Fork Road and Elkridge Drive to the south end of the ridge. Also, I have yet to find out if there were other settlers who, like Oscar Herron, preceded those listed above. Any help in resolving these two questions would be appreciated. The Homestead Act of 1862, which opened up this land for ownership, states: "Any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years shall be entitled to enter one-quarter section or a lesser quantity of unappropriated lands, upon which said person may have filed a pre-emption claim . . at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre . . . in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands. and after the same shall be surveyed and witnessed that he or she or they have resided on or cultivated the same for a term of five years . . . shall be entitled to patent and shall acquire absolute title. . . on payment of the office fees and sum of money specified herein." Landmark buildings The 1910 Burlington Map is one of the earliest maps of our area, to show so much detail, even at a scale of approximately 1:200,000 In comparing maps of different dates to what is known about our area today, you often find differences in names, spelling, position of the landmarks, features, accuracy of elevations and relief portrayal. The latter two are functions of technology, from the earliest sketch maps to today, highly precise measurement methods and equipment and new source material. Some of the other differences are due to actual changes in place names as a result of change of ownership, change in the local usage, correction of a prior mistake, new name for a previously unnamed feature, differences is scales of maps, and finally just plain old mistakes by the cartographers. Some of each of these occurs on this map in the area of Glen Haven and The Retreat. For instance: Dennis Hotel It no longer exists, but was located just to the left of the road leading from County Road to West Creek. The Hotel was built in 1907 and was torn down in 1977. Bunnie Batie and Bob Easterday's parents attended church there on their 1910 honeymoon. The Glen Haven Scrapbook has pictures taken of the Hotel in 1910 and later in the 1920's. Lester's Hotel Is near the top of the switchbacks and was originally the Rustic Hotel (1905 USGS map) opened by Shep Husted in 1901, who sold it to Lester in 1910. Lester then sold it to Livingston around 1940 when it became the H Bar G Ranch, and finally resold to become the American Youth Hostel. Tallen Just across the head of the switchbacks from Lester's Hotel is an example of a misspelling. It should be Tallant, for R.H. Tallant who was an artist that settled here around 1898. Spragues Is shown at the end of Dunraven Glade and is better known as the Deserted Village. Fred H. Sprague purchased a sawmill there from the Simonds brothers in 1909 and built a resort, He sold it in 1914 and then later it passed in to Dr. Maitland's hands. Bunie Batie said "We loved Deserted Village, an abandoned resort as the 11 cabins were in good repair and what fun to explore them and the huge barn and dairy house". She continues, "No one knows who first called. Sprague's Resort the Deserted Village. When I was growing up in the 1920's, we called it the Spragues. Although at that time, it really was a deserted village". Some people say that this was the area where Dunraven's hunting lodge was located, but other evidence indicates the area at the end of the Dunraven Glade Road as the site. The 1905 USGS Mt. Olympus Quad shows a number of buildings there and is labeled Dunraven Park. This same term also appears a little further east on the Burlington map. We'll talk more about Dunraven's lodge in a further article. Bryant's Ranch The two previous newsletters introduced us to the Bryants who homesteaded the area around 1901. However the article in the June-July 1987 newsletter incorrectly identifies the Bryant place as the "Brandt property". This is the place where Miller's grave was located. Sorry about the error. The Orchard This one is still a mystery to me. The Burlington map shows this about where Piper Meadow is located and the same for the 1905 USJ3 Quad and Enos Hills 1905 map. The fact that it is not labeled as Pipers Meadows is understandable as he did not arrive on the scene until about 1913, but I can't determine where the term "The Orchard" comes from. F.P. Clatworthy's 1907 map does not label it as such. Bob Easterday has seen the name on maps, but says he is also unfamiliar with the origin. The only other reference I've found to date is an article in the Trail Gazette. Nov.22. 1985 by Madeline Framson in which she says "Enos Hills 1905 Estes Park area map and other records indicate this place was earlier called "The Orchard" and was settled by two Scandinavian families, the Malmberg's and Erickson's, each owning 160 acres. They ran a dairy supplying milk for Estes Park hauled by Fred and Edgar Hyatt". Homesteaders In our previous article, we introduced you to some of the early residents of The Retreat. Charles Miller, who is buried here, and Lord Dunraven who had a lodge at the end of Dunraven Glade. In an attempt to learn about some of the other earlier settlers, I have searched land records at the Larimer County Courthouse. Six of these early homesteaders were Oscar S. Herron, Theodore E. Bryant, the Goodwin family, Levi Johnson, Mark Bartholf, and Jasper Sylvester. Oscar Herron was the first, and homesteaded 169 acres in 1878 around both entrances to The Retreat, however he evidently did not "prove up" the land or his claim, for the same land was later homesteaded by Frank Goodwin and Theadore Bryant in 1902-1904. Bryant's Ranch house appears on two maps, one from 1905 and the other from 1910, at the mouth of the Miller' Fork. He and his wife each filed for 160 acres on both sides of the county road from the old Dunraven Glade entrance, to past the Hiller Fork entrance. Included were the hills south of the junction of Miller Fork and the North Ford. All remains of his ranch have long: since vanished. The Goodwins; Frank, Elizabeth, Jesse, Bryon and Arthur each filed for 160 acres between 1902-1909 and later acquired an additional 80 more acres (total 880 acres). They owned about sixty percent of what is now The Retreat, from both entrances up both Dunraven and Miller valley: Their main ranch house was just across and to the left of the Dunraven Glade bridge. The 1905 map shows the ranch along with one or two more buildings on Dunraven. This was the first sales office for The Retreat, but burned in the early 1970's. Levi Johnson settled around the Copper Hill and Miller Fork junction, while Mark Bartholf and Jasper Sylvester had their 160 acres around the trailhead at the end of Dunraven Glade Road. There were other homesteaders in The Retreat, but these were accountable for about 90% of the area. One remaining mystery, which is still unresolved at this time, is that I cannot account for about 120 acres covering Elkridge from about the junction of Miller Fork Road and Elkridge Drive to the south end of the ridge. Also, I have yet to find out if there were other settlers, like Herron, who preceded those listed above. Any help in solving these two questions-would be appreciated. The Homestead Act of 1862, which opened up this land for ownership states: "That any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years old, … shall … be entitled to enter one quarter section or less quantity of unappropriated land, upon which said person may have filed a pre-emption claim ... at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre ... in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands, and after the same shall be surveyed and witnessed that he or she or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for a term of five years ... shall be entitled to patent ... and shall acquire absolute title ... on payment of the office fees and sum of money specified herein. Rocky Mountain News May 24, 1871 Accidental shooting Doctor William Bryan, of Burlington, sends us the following particulars of a sad affair that recently occurred in the vicinity of Estes Park: It became my painful duty to inform you of a most unfortunate and total accident that befell a most estimable citizen of Mt. Vrain, while hunting in the vicinity of Estes Park, on Wednesday last, the 17'th instant. I do it to preclude the possibility of any misstatement of the sad affair by Madame Rumor, it relation to the manner in which our friend Charles D. Miller came to an untimely end. He and Charles W. Dennison, together, left the house of Griffith Evada, in the park, on a hunting expedition. Having killed a fine elk and deer, they left their ramp on horseback to bring in their game. Crossing a branch of the Big Thompson, Mr. Miller took the lead, and had reached the middle of the creek when, thinking the bank too high, he turned his horse down stream to make an easier landing. At that moment a twig of willow caught the hammer of Mr. Denison's rifle, and in an instant it exploded and shot Mr. Miller, the ball striking the prominence of the right hip joint, finding its way under the tissues in front, and entering the abdomen. He lingered from 2 o'clock p.m., on Thursday. I accompanied his wife to the ground, but we were too late. He was perfectly conscious to the moment of his death, and upon a piece of paper given to him, he wrote that he was satisfied that his death wound was the result of an accident. He leaves an amiable wife and three children to mourn his loss. In his relation to society, he was social and dignified, a tender husband and father, and in short, a most estimable, valuable, and respected citizen. May He who "tempers the wind to the shore lamb," be their guide and helper. Retreat In 1971, Dr. Walter Maitland sold his "upper ranch" to Lynn Wells under the name of Escape Properties, and called the subdivision The Retreat. This included land on Miller Creek and on both sides of Dunraven Glade. A crew of young surveyors rented the house next door to us to survey the property and layout lots. They were crazy neighbors, climbing the cliff behind their cabin and jumping down on ropes. They supposedly grew marijuana in the flower boxes unbeknown to their landlord. At first, the people of Glen Haven were leery of this new housing development, wanting to keep the Glen and its surroundings just as they had always been, but as lovely new homes were built and we became acquainted, we welcomed the Retreat landowners as new friends and neighbors. When the Fire Department conducted its annual fund drive by letter, the response from the number of Retreat landowners was gratifying even from those who owned land and no house. Year-around residents became active in the Volunteer Fire Department and in 1982 a new Fire Station #2 was built in the Retreat to house equipment. Since the development is just "over the hill" from Glen Haven (we can climb our back mountain and look down on Dunraven Glade and Retreat homes) it gives us added security should a fire occur in that area. Retreat landowners come from many states (California to New York). One Swiss couple come from their home in the Alps each summer to their cabin high on a hill, as they prefer Colorado summers to Switzerland! |
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