A Colorado ranch homesteaded before statehood stayed with the same family for six generations; more than 150 years later, 650 of its roughly 700 acres were permanently protected from subdivision | World News
The 700-acre Hutchinson Ranch along US Highway 50 between Salida and Poncha Springs, recognised as the oldest family-owned ranch in Colorado’s Upper Arkansas Valley, is now largely protected from development.The ranch has been in the Hutchinson family for six generations. In 2013, conservation agreements covering 650 acres were completed, blocking subdivision while keeping ownership and ranching with the family, according to The Trust for Public Land.
The ranch dates back to 1868
Joseph Sykes Hutchinson and his wife, Annabel McPherson Hutchinson, first homesteaded part of the property in 1868.At the time, Colorado was still a US territory. The territory became a state eight years later, in 1876.Joseph had arrived in Colorado in 1866 after being wounded during the Battle of Vicksburg in the Civil War. The family soon built a large cattle operation. By the 1870s, the Hutchinsons had more than 5,000 cattle spread across parts of Colorado.Its historic value was recognised in 2003, when the ranch and its original homestead were included among Colorado Preservation Inc.’s top five most endangered properties.The Hutchinsons later donated the original homestead to the Town of Poncha Springs. The historic property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Why 650 acres were protected
The Hutchinsons wanted to keep the ranch together, but conservation groups offered another way to protect the land without the family having to give up ownership.A conservation easement is essentially a permanent legal agreement that limits what can be done with a property. In this case, it means the protected parts of the ranch cannot be split into smaller parcels for development.The first 180 acres were protected in 2010 after the Hutchinson family donated a conservation easement to the Land Trust of Upper Arkansas.The Trust for Public Land later bought the development rights to another 470 acres. Those agreements were completed in 2011 and 2013 and are held by the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.Together, the agreements protected 650 acres of the approximately 700-acre ranch.The family did not have to sell the land. It could continue owning the ranch, raising cattle and passing the property to future generations.The project was supported by Great Outdoors Colorado, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Chaffee County and the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Habitat Protection Program.
Six generations of Hutchinsons
Abby Hutchinson, the granddaughter of family patriarch Wendell “Doc” Hutchinson, took on the job of managing the ranch and its cattle operation.Wendell was born in 1924 and spent most of his life on the ranch. He left for college and served during World War II, but later returned to the family property.After his father, Mills Hutchinson, died in 1949, Wendell and his wife, Mary Sue Swallow, took over the ranch. Keeping it running was not easy. Wendell also worked as a veterinarian and used that income to help support the ranch.He became well known in the local community. He served on the Salida school board for 29 years and led the Chaffee County 4-H Livestock Club for 16 years. He also served on the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District Board and local bank boards.
