The Bill’s Ranch neighborhood in Frisco, Colorado
A subdivsion with cabins and homes in Frisco is called Bill’s Ranch.
I often hear from people who would love to buy a little Frisco cabin. They like them because they are cute and funky and just the kind of place people remember spending time in as a kid. They also assume they will be cheap. That is far from the case! Because they are so desirable, the prices are high when and if they change hands. Owners often have a list of friends who have asked to be notified if they decide to sell, and, and a result, they don’t even make it into the Summit County MLS.
Let me give you a little history about Frisco’s oldest neighborhood, Bill’s Ranch.
Frisco had a boom and bust economy for years. It relied on the mining business, which has always had many ups and downs. The majority of people who withstood the winters in the Rockies were either miners or ranchers. Bill Thomas was one of the ranchers in the 1930s. His family had been here since the late 1800s. He and his brother had a herd of cows and they sold milk to many locals. In order to create a larger market for their milk, Bill had (what some thought to be) a hairbrained idea to give away parts of his ranch as lots, on which people could build themselves summer cabins. He advertised the free land, and many people took him up on it. The lots were not laid out in any order, and there were no roads, sewers, or water supply as would be required today. Someone just decided on what looked like a good spot, and that is where the cabin got built. (Thanks to Mary Ellen Gilliland, as her books on the history of Summit County are what I used for my research to verify what I thought I knew.)
Today, Bill’s Ranch has almost as many new, large homes as it does funky cabins. In some cases, lots have been combined in order to have a large enough piece of land on which to build and to have the room for a well. A sewer connection is now available, but some cabins may still have septic systems. You even see some outhouses here and there. Hopefully they are just relics and not still in use! Many of the cabins are lived in full time, while others are winterized, closed up and only used occasionally. The bike path goes right through Bill’s Ranch, and some residents even use it as their driveway. Many summer visitors are surprised to find a car driving down the bike path, as they ride to Breckenridge.
While Bill’s Ranch is considered to be located in Frisco, it is not actually within the town limits, so the 1% transfer fee does not apply when property is sold. The Frisco police do not have jurisdiction, and if police are needed, the Summit County sheriff will respond. It is very near all the Summit County services, with the County Commons being right next door. The animal shelter, library, building department, senior center, highway patrol and motor vehicle department are all within walking distance, just a block or two east of the subdivision. The Summit Stage, the free local bus, stops there too. Walk about 5 or 6 blocks northwest, and you are on Main Street in downtown Frisco, with shopping, dining and plenty of Frisco real estate offices. Lake Dillon and the Frisco Marina are also nearby, so you can see why the neighborhood is so popular. The homes I have photographed here are representative of the subdivision and are not for sale.
This post is part of a series on the neighborhoods of Frisco, Colorado. Read about Lagoon Townhomes, Mountain Side Condos or Waterdance and Wooden Canoe at Waterdance by clicking on the links. I have a post on the Reserve at Frisco scheduled for the next month or so. If you like information about Summit County homes, the lifestyle and events, subscribe to this blog so you never have to miss one!
