Schweiger Ranch Fall Festival The Historic Schweiger Ranch plays host, once again, to the annual Fall Festival the first Saturday in October. From 10am2pm on October 7th, the Ranch will be teeming with all things Autumnal. Enjoy the day and all it has to offer with guided tours of the Ranch, Bluegrass Music, kids’ crafts and the Cave of Confusion. Refreshments will be available to purchase from vendors and food trucks at the event. What’s a fall festival without a good old fashioned pumpkin patch? Be sure to bring a little pocket change, pumpkins will be ready for purchase for $5, with small gourds and mini pumpkins free to each child. (Limit one per child) Hay rides and wagon rides, provided by Colorado Carriage Company, will be part of the festivities as well. Plans are in place to have a fruit and vegetable vendor at the event too, so fresh apples and other fall produce may be available to purchase. The Douglas County Library is getting in on the fun at the Ranch with story-telling for the little ones in the morning, and later in the day, a few ghost stories for older kiddos. Schweiger Ranch has deep roots within the Ridgegate Community and Lone Tree, reaching back to the 19th Century. The ranch was built by three brothers, John, Joseph and Jacob Schweiger, in 1874, after John emigrated from Austria and found his way to the Denver area. His brothers soon joined him and after saving enough money, bought their first parcel of land from William Eli Ashley in 1874. The boys’ parents homesteaded with them for several years until their mother passed away in 1879. After drawing straws to see who would venture to take a bride after their mother’s death, John drew the short straw and
married his wife Anna in 1885. Together they had seven children and it’s believed that the current house, barn, stable and loafing shed were built after 1893 to accommodate the Schweiger’s growing family. Over time, the family grew the land from the original 38 acres to nearly 4,000 acres. The land was sold in the 1950’s, but after falling on hard times, the developer sold it again in 1972 to what is now RidgeGate Investments. Undeveloped land was leased for ranching operations until the late 90’s, when a vision for the master planned community, now known as RidgeGate, was imagined. Seizing the opportunity to preserve Schweiger Ranch as a cultural and educational facility, Coventry Development formed the Schweiger Foundation, preserving the original 38 acres (donated by RidgeGate Investments) and restoring buildings that had fallen into disrepair, bringing them back to their historic condition. In 2004, Douglas County was approached to designate the ranch as a historic landmark and that status was granted the same year. Four years later, the Schweiger Ranch Foundation received its first grant to save the barn, which was near collapse at the time. The Ranch is now open to the public for tours, educational events, and private parties and special events like the Fall Festival, and is thriving as a living history museum. Schweiger Ranch Fall Festival is on Saturday, October 7th from 10am-2pm. It is located at 10822 Havana Street in Lone Tree. To get there, follow signs on Havana to parking in the lot behind the green gate on your way to the Ranch and take a tractor ride into the festivities. Handicapped parking will be available near the event site. lonetreemagazine.com OCTOBER 2017
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