DC and Colorado History

Douglas County was one of the original 17 counties created in the Colorado Territory by the Colorado Territorial Legislature on November 1, 1861. It was named in honor of Stephen A. Douglas, who died the year the county was created. Known as the "Little Giant," Douglas battled his own Democratic Party, as well as the Republican Abraham Lincoln, over issues of slavery, the Kansas-Nebraska Act and popular sovereignty. Douglas County originally stretched from the Rockies to the State of Kansas border, however in 1874, most of the eastern portion of the county became part of Elbert County. The county seat was originally Franktown, but moved to California Ranch in 1863 and then to Castle Rock in 1874.

Castle Rock was founded in 1874 on land donated by one of the original homesteaders, Jeremiah Gould. Highlands Ranch was founded in 1981, as was the Town of Parker, however both can trace their histories to the pioneering days. In 1859, Dad Rufus H. Clark filed a 160 acre claim where the Highlands Ranch Golf Course is now located. Parker settlement began with establishment of the Pine Grove Post Office by Alfred Butters around 1863.