History

Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne visited this meadow to hunt and harvest lodgepole pine for their tepees. The park area was homesteaded by Robert Strain, Charles Abbott, Thomas Audrey, and Charlotte Howe.

Between 1905 and 1943, Ted Johnson acquired 940 acres of the meadow plus 200 acres to the south. The meadow was used for ranching as evidenced by Johnson’s barn, which is still in the meadow. Ted’s two brothers also lived on the ranch. Oscar managed the ranch and George was a blacksmith.

In 1945, Darst Buchanan bought the 1,140 acres and included it in the Hiwan Ranch. The 1,140 acres were sold to Cole Means in 1949 for summer pasture. Open Space began purchasing the property from Means in 1977. An additional parcel to the south was added from a donation in 2009.