Colorado petrified wood

Median household income highlands ranch, co
Santa gertrude
American red cattle

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The Castle Pines Connection

Part two of three

By Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of Cherokee Ranch & Castle

Tweet Kimball took great pride in her Santa Gertrudis cattle herd, including this prize-winning bull.

Last month, we tracked the history of the Cherokee Castle and Ranch after Tweet Kimball acquired it in 1954. Indeed, her impact on virtually everything she touched and those she encountered was outsized. Comfortable in rugged ranch hand garb or equally so in an evening gown and diamond tiara, Tweet’s life was rich at many levels.

Raised an only child of privilege in Chattanooga, Tweet was heavily influenced by her well-read, well-traveled mother. An aunt of Tweet’s married an Italian Count, occasioning several European visits. When there, mother and daughter were in their element, visiting museums and palaces, enhancing a growing collection of fine books, china, art, furniture and jewelry. That Tweet became a Bryn Mawr fine arts major surprised no one.

When husband Merritt was posted to the American Embassy in London, it is said that Tweet’s u

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The Castle Pines Connection

Part one of three

By Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of John Lake and Meg Anderson

Were there a Colorado Mt. Rushmore, Tweet Kimball’s profile might well be chiseled there. Born in 1914 Tennessee, where women wielded limited political power, Bryn Mawr-educated Mildred Genevieve Montague “Tweet” Kimball never got the message. After acquiring Charlford Castle in 1954 which had been built by Denver real estate developer Charles Johnson 30 years prior, Tweet was in full charge of her destiny.

As a daughter of wealthy West Point graduate Richard Huntington Kimball, Tweet was a belle of Chattanooga, and her life swirled in currents of privilege and power. She married wealthy Merritt Ruddock, OSS/CIA executive and diplomat. When later posted to the U.S. Embassy in London, the Ruddock’s social position opened early channels to monarchs and heads of state. By then, Merritt and Tweet had adopted two sons, Kirk and Richard. It is said that the boys often enjoyed time with Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, but were never permitted to shar

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Tweet Kimball

American rancher and art collector (1914–1999)

Mildred Montague Genevieve "Tweet" Kimball (14 June 1914–16 January 1999),^[1]^[2] was an American rancher, art collector, and heiress who owned and lived on the 3,400-acre (1,376 ha) Cherokee Ranch and its associated castle north of Sedalia in Douglas County, Colorado, from 1954 until her death. Born to a wealthy Tennessee family and raised in Chattanooga, Kimball moved to Colorado following her divorce from diplomat husband Merritt Ruddock.

During her time at Cherokee Ranch, Kimball promoted and bred Santa Gertrudis cattle in a colder environment than ever previously done. Her lobbying saw the National Western Stock Show introduce the exhibition and sale of Santa Gertrudis; Kimball eventually became the first female member of the National Western Stock Show Association. Kimball also accumulated a preserved collection which includes 14 original architectural drawings by Christopher Wren, a Queen Anne desk, and two first-edition sets of Winston Churchill's works. Kimball established a foun