Cherry Hills Crest & Cherry Hills View
Neighborhood Development
Historical Context
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Our neighborhood's story begins with the July 1, 1862, Pacific Railroad Acts signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. The act granted vast tracts of land, incentivizing railroad companies to build rail and telegraph lines in the West. The land not needed for rail construction could be sold to help finance the construction. The legislation also provided financing through government bonds. The legislation enabled the completion of the transcontinental railroad, which was completed in 1869.
During the same period, the federal government allotted land to private citizens through the Homestead Act of 1862. The act allows settlers, men and women over the age of 21, to apply for up to 160 acres of land, provided they lived on the land for five years and showed proof of agricultural cultivation.
Local events impacted the Littleton area during the mid-1800s. In 1858, the Gold Rush moved into the Colorado Territory, and Denver's transformation began. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad began serving Littleton in the 1870s, with Littleton's founding in 1872. Farmers and ranchers increased their productivity with the completion of the High Line Canal in 1882.
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Early Ownership
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In October 1881, the Platte Land Company purchased numerous parcels of land from the Union Pacific Railway Company. In November 1886, S.J. Gilmore purchased the parcels from the Platte Land Company. One of the parcels purchased is "our neighborhood."
Mr. Gilmore, a prominent Denver resident, immigrated to the United States from Belfast, Ireland, in 1863 and served as the manager (today referred to as President or Chief Executive Officer) of the Colorado Mortgage and Investment Company for 31 years after leaving his position of land commissioner of the Union Pacific Railroad. The Colorado Mortgage and Investment Company and its various subsidiaries, including the Platte Land Company, were responsible for building the Highline Canal.
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​ Willits Farm Map (1899) documents the parcel owned
by S. J. Gilmore in section 23 at the corner Orchard Road and University Boulevard. The
first school in the area was located on the
deKoevend property as indicated above the
number 24. Courtesy of Denver Public Library
Collections.
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1886 Platte Land Company advertisement.
Courtesy of Rocky Mountain News.
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Mr. Gilmore may have left the land for grazing or leased it to a neighboring farmer. Other farmers in the area had dairy operations, hog farms, and wheat and alfalfa crops.​
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In January 1912, the land was sold to Charles Bryant and John McCaffrey. Five years later, Messrs. Bryant and McCaffrey sold the land to Edward and Mary Ellerman. The Ellermans also owned the adjacent parcel of land. Again, it is not known what agricultural practices were undertaken on the land. (The Ellermans' other property was sold to George Robinson, a prominent rancher in Douglas County, in 1926.)
In 1923, the Ellermans sold the property to Daniel and Elizabeth Epler. The Eplers were members of the Grandview Grange and sold a portion of their land (the corner of South University Boulevard and Orchard Road) to the Grange to erect a new hall for meetings. Another small parcel was sold to the Grange in 1940.
In 1940, Mr. and Mrs. Epler sold half of the original parcel (the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter) formerly owned by Mr. Gilmore to Oren W. Crabtree. Samuel and Nellie Dolph purchased the remaining half (the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter) in January 1946. Ownership of both properties would only change in the late 1950s.
Unfortunately, what was farmed on the Dolph or Crabtree farms isn't clear. Since the 1890s, The Littleton Independent newspaper articles indicate the area's crops included cereal crops (wheat, corn, rye) and alfalfa. Small truck farms, a few orchards, and dairy, poultry, and pig farms operated until the mid-1950s. Residents' oral histories mention grain fields in the area of Orchard Road.
World War II Impacts on Housing
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The character of our area was about to change with the mobilization of World War II. The transformation was described by historian Stephen Leonard, "Within a year, Denverites were learning air-raid rules, sewing blackout curtains, saving tin and lard, and conserving gasoline and tires…By the end of the war in August 1945, over 1,300 Denver area residents had lost their lives while at home, hundreds of thousands of others saw their lives and the city transformed."​​
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The Denver metropolitan region already had a housing shortage due to the expansion and addition of military facilities during the war, which required civilian workers, military members, and their families. Fitzsimons Hospital, Lowry Field, Buckley Field, Fort Logan, Denver Ordnance Plant, the Bomber Modification Center, Denver Medical Depot, and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal supported war efforts, and many workers remained in the area after 1945.
After years of economic stagnation, the GI Bill's attractive low down payments and interest rates, the popularity of automobiles, and the promise of the nation's growing economic prosperity, suburban growth was about to explode. Arapahoe County's population increased by 62.1% in the 1940s and grew by another 177.6% in the 1950s. Littleton's population swelled during the 1950s, rising 304.7%.
With population growth came annexation, with cities vying for unincorporated county land. Developers also competed for farmland to build their new communities. Farmers found it hard to resist the dizzying offers for their land. The Littleton area was quickly transformed from an agricultural area into a desirable suburb of Denver.
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A New Economy​​
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Alan Hess, architect and historian, writes, "World War II catapulted the housing industry into the future, just as it did the electronics and aerospace industries." This impact reshaped the Littleton area. Before 1949, Littleton had four large manufacturing plants: Coleman Motor Company (automobile manufacturing specialized vehicles), Red Comet, Inc. (manufacturing fire extinguishers), O.K. Ko-Op Rubber Welding (manufacturing of equipment to repair and recap tires and boots), and the Heckethorn Manufacturing and Supply Co. (manufacturing pulleys and hardware). During World II, the federal government became the largest employer in the metropolitan area. All four of the Littleton manufacturing companies converted to war production and continued receiving defense contracts after the end of WWII.
By the mid-1950s, many manufacturing companies were beginning to downsize or relocate to other areas of the country. At the same time, research and development companies were searching for attractive locations to build a corporate industrial campus in suburban areas. Littleton and the surrounding area's Western hospitality seemed appealing.
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​ 1955 Aerial view of the Dolph property near the corner of Orchard Road and
University Boulevard. The Crabtree farm is located on University Boulevard
near the High Line Canal. Courtesy of Historic Aerials.
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Welcome newcomers… Four large companies built new campuses in the area. The Ohio Oil Company purchased an 80-acre site off-Broadway in unincorporated Arapahoe County in 1955. Glenn L. Martin Company selected its site believing Littleton would be appealing to its employees and, naturally, a remote location for missile tests. Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation, a defense contractor, designed and manufactured equipment for tracking enemy targets and related computer design in 1957. By 1961, the plant closed, and Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company moved into the site, manufacturing magnetic tape, photographic equipment, and electronic medical instruments. Later, receiving military contracts for research and classified electronic equipment. C.A. Norgren broke ground in 1957, manufacturing nameplates, producing plastic molds, and die-casting.
With the good fortune of companies relocating to the area came the question of where all these employees would live.
Cherry Hills Crest & Cherry Hills View
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Our neighborhood's transformation is similar to other suburban communities developed after World War II. Littleton and its unincorporated areas transformed from an agrarian economy, responding to the impacts of military installations and related industries moving into the Denver region, fueling the need for residential expansion.
Two unassociated developers established our current neighborhood. Cherry Hills Crest was developed by the Aberdeen Land Company beginning in 1958. This area includes South Race Street, South Vine Street, South Gaylord Way, South Columbine Way, and a section of Crabtree Drive to the north side of South Elizabeth Way ending at University Boulevard.
Cherry Hills Crest was built on the property owned by Samuel and Nellie Dolph. It appears Samuel became a farmer later in his life. The 1920 census records list Samuel as the proprietor of a grocery store and Nellie as a saleslady living in Denver. By the 1930 census, the Dolphs had moved to Englewood. Samuel was working as a streetcar motorman. By the 1940 census, they had moved to the Orchard Road farm, and Samuel worked as a Works Progress Administration laborer. The 1950s census lists Samuel's occupation as a farmer. The 1957 Littleton City Directory lists the Dolphs residing on South Prince Street in Englewood and retired.
The Cherry Hills Crest Plat was recorded in November 1958. Robert Hayutin, President of Aberdeen Land Company, developed plans for the neighborhood and the Cherry Crest Shoppette on University Boulevard. The Aberdeen Land Company actively developed Aberdeen Village in Littleton before the Cherry Hills Crest project. Cherry Hills Crest was the last small project for Mr. Hayutin as he developed larger planned communities in the Aurora area. Mr. Hayutin also built the former 500,000-square-foot Buckingham Square Mall and associated office buildings, townhomes, and homes in the Village East development.
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​ Several plans were prepared for
the Cherry Hills Crest subdivision. Even
though many thought a school would
be built in the neighborhood it was
never included in the plans.
Aberdeen Land Company donated
three lots (2000, 2050 and 2070
Crabtree Drive) to School District
No. 6 with the condition Aberdeen
Land Company would have approval
of the sale or repurchased the lots.
Courtesy of Denver Public Library
Special Collections.
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Cherry Hills View land was formerly owned by Nellie Crabtree and her daughter and son-in-law Lytle and Yvonne Whitefield. Nellie and her husband Owen were both public school teachers and living in Denver with their daughter at the time of the 1930 and 1940 census. The 1950 census records them as living on South University Boulevard. Owen was still working as a teacher at the time of the census and died in 1958. Lytle and Yvonne, also a schoolteacher, lived at South University next to her parents with their young son. Nellie continued to live in her 1949 ranch home at 6010 South University Boulevard after the neighborhood's development.
Public records indicate the Crabtree land was sold to J.C. Colsman of Denver in 1958. In 1959, Mr. Colsman sold the property to John S. Swartz and Paul Painter, and the plat was filed in April 1959. The Englewood City 1959 Directory lists Mr. Swartz as a contractor of Swartz Building Company and, in 1961, owner of Town & Country Enterprises. At some point, D.W. and Bette Cook (listed in the 1958 Englewood City Directory as “real estate”) became actively involved in the Cherry Hill View development with Messrs. Swartz and Painter.
Even though both developments appear indistinguishable, the projects were different. Cherry Hills View had protective covenants, was listed as a registered homeowners' association, and is still listed on the City of Centennial's website. As mentioned, Aberdeen Land Company decided to build a shoppette known as Cherry Crest View Shoppette.
The February 8, 1960 minutes of the Board of County Commissioners of Arapahoe County reflect opposition to the change of zoning to allow for the construction of a retail center. The Commissioners voted in favor of the zone change as the adjoining corners, including a gas station, were used for commercial purposes. It was resolved "That the public necessity, convenience, general welfare, and good zoning practice justifies granting the application for change in zoning."
The neighborhood's character has remained intact, with few changes from the original plans. At the corner of Crabtree Drive and University Boulevard, the two lots on the east and west sides of Crabtree Drive were each subdivided into two lots in the 1990s.
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Advertisement placed in several newspapers.
A pizzeria, doughnut shop and small
restaurant retailers are present today! Courtesy
of Littleton Independent.
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In response to the increased library usage, due in
part to residents in unincorporated Arapahoe
County no longer having to pay a fee to use the
library, a branch was opened in the Cherry Crest
shoppette. The library was moved to the
Southglenn Shopping Center in 1964.
Courtesy Denver of Public Library Digital
Collections.
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