The Perry Park area was originally inhabited by the Ute, Kiowa, Arapaho and CheyenneNative American tribes. It was not settled by American immigrants until the 1858 Pike's Peak Gold Rush near present-day Colorado Springs. Then ranchers such as Ben Quick and George Ratcliffe began settling in the area. In 1870 John D. Perry, president of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, visited Colorado and purchased the "Pleasant Park" that would eventually be named Perry Park. Mr. Perry's son, Charles, became a permanent resident of the ranch and raised short-horn cattle in the area until his death in 1876. Charles Perry died as a result of being kicked by a horse on the ranch. In 1888 John Perry, along with a number of other investors created the Red Stone Town, Land, & Mining Company which attempted to turn Pleasant Park into a resort destination. A dam was constructed on Bear Creek, creating Lake Wauconda. A large hotel was built southwest of the lake. One of the investors, Charles Roberts, built one of the only homes in the new development along the shores of Lake Wauconda. The Roberts home—the Manor House—is now the clubhouse for Perry Park Country Club. Attempts to extend the railroad running through Larkspur directly into the park failed and the resort failed to prosper. Land deed problems contributed to the failure of the resort since many parcels of land could not be legally traced to the owners. The ranch changed hands many times in the early to mid-1900s. The hotel was eventually destroyed by fire.
Perry Park Ranch
In 1967, Lee Stubblefield purchased the ranch for $2,000,000 and formed the Colorado Western Development Company. Mr. Stubblefield platted the current layout of Perry Park Ranch. The Perry Park Country Club was also developed during this time and opened in 1971. The platted area within the park continues to be developed by outside real estate investors and future residents. As platted lots become improved with roads and utilities, homes are permitted to be built.
Geography
Perry Park is located in south-central Douglas County at the foot of the Rampart Range, the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in this area. It is southwest of Castle Rock, the Douglas County seat. Perry Park Ranch is known for the dramatic array of 'red rock' sandstone rock formations. They are part of the Fountain Formation, which is found along the eastern mountain face of the Front Range. The Pike National Forest and Rampart Range neighbor the community to the west. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of, of which, or 0.41%, is water. The community lies in the valleys of Bear Creek and Spring Creek, both tributaries of West Plum Creek and part of the South Platte River watershed.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,180 people, 473 households, and 404 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 124.1 people per square mile. There were 495 housing units at an average density of 52.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.46% White, 0.25% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.97% of the population. There were 473 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.7% were married couplesliving together, 2.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.4% were non-families. 11.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.69. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 21.4% under the age of 18, 1.9% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 43.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $88,408, and the median income for a family was $89,367. Males had a median income of $69,808 versus $51,477 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $47,574. About 1.1% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen or sixty-five or over.
