The Highland Springs Ranch & Inn, formerly known as Highland Springs Resort, was established in 1884 and became

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

's first historical landmark. The ranch is located in the unincorporated community of Cherry Valley at the northwestern end of the

San Gorgonio Pass The San Gorgonio Pass, or Banning Pass, is a elevation gap on the rim of the Great Basin between the San Bernardino Mountains to the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. The pass was formed by the San Andreas Fault, a major trans ...

. The Ranch and its immediate neighborhood are known as the community of Highland Springs. Formerly a stagecoach stop on the

Bradshaw Trail Today's Bradshaw Trail is a historic overland stage route in the western Colorado Desert of Southern California. It is a remnant of the much longer Bradshaw Road, also known as the Road to La Paz, or Gold Road, established in 1862 by William D. ...

, owned by Dr. Isaac Smith, the ranch became a hotel turned health resort by Fred S. Hirsch and his brother William in 1927. The location was frequented by numerous historical figures, including

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

, and

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

. The property, now under the care of Highland Springs president Tina Kummerle, encompasses 2400 acres and comprises one of California’s largest organic lavender farms, a restaurant, inn, and camp.

History

Spanish explorers first visited the area surrounding Highland Springs, known as San Gorgonio Rancho, with missionaries in the late 1700s. They established

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

in 1771 to serve as a center for proselytizing the Native Americans. Under a Spanish Land Grant, notorious peacekeeper, Paulino Weaver, owned most of the San Gorgonio Rancho territory. According to historian Ken Edwards'','' Paulino acquired Rheumatoid Fever and was nursed to health by a passerby named Dr. Isaac Smith. Edward’s asserts that Smith was ultimately gifted one-third of the interest of the San Gorgonio property, then was later transferred ownership of the entire land. Dr. Isaac Smith founded Smith’s Ranch, later known as Smith's Station, on October 10, 1853. By 1862, it became a stagecoach stop along the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...

route. The notorious Hall and Wilkinson Stagecoach robbery-murder of 1862 occurred on the property while under Dr. Isaac’s ownership. From 1864 to 1866, Smith’s Station was the first stop in Highland Springs along the

. It was also the single connecting line for passenger mail as well as the express travel between Southern California and the eastern regions of the United States, including Yuma, Arizona. In 1884 Smith’s Station was purchased by an unspecified Los Angeles company, where one of the owners, named Veile, opened a three-story hotel on the property called Highland Home Hotel. Following the planting of the first cherry trees on the Highland property, Cherry Valley became the name of the surrounding area. Highland Home Hotel was bought by Palmer and Halliday of Santa Ana in 1888. Palmer and Halliday planted a huge acreage of fruit trees on the land. In 1921, the hotel was bought and renamed, Highland Springs Hotel. Highland also served as an all-girls camp called Highland Lassie Lodge in the early 1920s. In 1927, Fred S. Hirsch and his brother Will W. Hirsch bought Smith’s old property and developed it into a vegetarian health resort called Highland Springs Resort. After allegedly being healed through Prof. Arnold Ehret’s methods, Fred Hirsch implemented the teaching of Prof.

Ehret Ehret is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arno Ehret (born 1953), German handball player * Arnold Ehret (1866–1922), German health educator * Charles Frederick Ehret (1923–2007), American World War II veteran and molecular ...

and ran a vegetarian restaurant serving produce grown on the property. Highland Springs Resort became known as “The Last Resort” because people who were unable to heal through traditional medicine, travelled to Highland Springs for Hirsch’s help to recover. /sup> One of the famous visitors of Highland Springs was

, a personal friend of the Hirsch family, who often came to the resort during his visits to

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. Other celebrity visitors include,

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

, and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

. In 1948, the Rosin brothers (Stanley, Elmer, & Victor) bought Highland Springs Resort and endeavored to develop the land into a “Catskills of the West” for Jewish families, which included various outdoor activities including tennis, swimming, horseback riding, dancing, music, and entertainment. Highland Springs Resort Hotel burned down under ownership of the Rosin brothers in 1970. /sup> In May 1990, Highland Springs Ranch & Inn (formerly Highland Springs Resort Hotel) was purchased by a South Korean corporation under the leadership of inventor and natural health enthusiast

Yoo Byung-eun Yoo Byung-eun (Korean: 유병언; Hanja: 兪炳彥) was a South Korean businessman and inventor, who as a photographer was known under the art name Ahae. Yoo became the focus of Park Geun-hye’s administration shortly after the Sinking of MV Sew ...

The Resort Today

Under Yoo’s ownership in 2001, Highland Springs recruited a farmer named Tina Kummerle. According to Jessy Beckett, a few months into taking the farmer position, the president stepped down and the board appointed Tina as Highland Springs’ new president. Kummerle graduated with a degree in environmental science from

Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...

and has plans to make Highland Springs more sustainably eco-friendly. In 2009, Highland Springs was renovated. Reviving of the property included constructing a more modern building on a different site, and a revamping of the lobby and guest rooms. The resort now contains an organic farm, a science camp for children, olive groves, and the largest certified organic lavender farm (20 acres) in Southern California. The Grand Oak Farm to Table restaurant is named for a thousand-year-old oak tree residing on the property, and most of the food served at the restaurant is produced at the onsite farm. The ranch hosts its Lavender Festival from June to July which celebrates the beginning of lavender harvest season, where many lavender products are made and sold. Highland Springs also hosts the Annual Sausage and Beer Festival, the Annual Olive & Wine Faire, and several others. During festivals, Highland Springs’ farmers offer workshops and showcase the farm’s organic produce. The ranch offers live music, hiking, and photoshoots for amateur photographers. Highland’s Springs Resort management intends to preserve the “historic character and charm of the property.”

References

Tourist attractions in Riverside County, California Landmarks of Riverside County, California Agriculture in Riverside County, California Buildings and structures in Riverside County, California San Gorgonio Pass {{DEFAULTSORT:Highland Springs Resort Ranch and Inn