SOME CHANGES:
We are updating the language in our contracts dealing with what can and can't be done on the
property purchased from us until it is paid in full. One family has erected a junky compound with many vehicles, piles
of parts and supplies, poorly made structures, etc. Another man parked an empty tractor-trailer rig on a beautiful parcel
of land high up in the Alpine area. We are not going to permit buyers to leave any motor vehicles on a property without
OUR PERMISSION, nor to erect any structures or leave any supplies on their land unless you discuss it with
us first. We certainly encourage building and settlement, but do feel that as long as we still own the land, we would
like to know what you are doing and have a little control over what is put on the property. In the future we are hoping
to work in closer conjunction with the Homeowners Association in the SDCR area to see what their position is and how together
we can keep the land beautiful for all owners and visitors.
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ARCHIVED STORY FROM THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAN -- Sept 20, 1993
Author: Erin Smith
Billionaire Malcolm Forbes took pride in his collections.
FORT GARLAND -- The late publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes was a collector who passed on that trait to his five children.
Forbes collected the large and the small. He loved beautiful, historical and somewhat unusual homes, as well as vast collections
of miniatures. He amassed perhaps the world's greatest collection of Faberge eggs, which can be seen at his corporate office
in New York City. Forbes also has the largest collection of military miniatures in the world, which yearly are seen
by thousands of tourists who go through his Palais Mendoub --for many years the residence of the representative of the Sultan
of Morocco in Tangier. And his collection of miniature motorcycles and famous ships can be found at the lodge and conference
center at the Forbes Trinchera east of Fort Garland. Forbes' guests at the Trinchera often are wined and dined at several
of the historical homes on the more than 180,000-acre spread.
If they are lucky enough to feast at the Canyon House, they don't need to take a trip to Tangier to see the lovely palace
Forbes acquired in preparation for the establishment of the "Forbes" Arabic edition.
After dinner, guests at the Canyon House repair to a den, sip cognac and watch a video of Forbes' 70th birthday bash
in Tangier, where ``the biggest little army in the world stands guard" over the family's personal palace. Forbes' 70th
was his last birthday. The genial billionnaire died Feb. 24, 1990, following a major bridge tournament in England.
Kip Forbes said his father returned to his New Jersey home, went to bed after the long trans-Atlantic flight and died
in his sleep. The late giant's romance with the West began while courting his wife, the late Roberta Remsen Laidlaw,
who spent her summers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where her uncle had built a cabin on a ranch acquired from writer Owen Wister,
author of ``The Virginian." Forbes could not find a Wyoming ranch big enough for him. So when the 168,000-acre Trinchera
came up for sale in 1969 for a little more than $3 million, he jumped at its purchase. He purchased the 87,000 acres of the
Blanca Trinchera in 1984. His plan was to raise Kobe beef -- cattle that would be fed special food and massaged to produce
tender, expensive meat -- but he found the overhead too high.
Later, he wanted to establish the nation's largest private game preserve but the state of Colorado stood in the way.
The wildlife belonged to the people and Forbes would have to drive all the game from the land before stocking it anew. That
was too formidable even for Forbes. Forbes eventually divided about 70,000 acres of the ranch into three subdivisions:
Forbes Park, with 1- to 5-acre homesites, where there now are 131 homes. Sangre de Cristo Ranches, with 5-acre sites, where
there are 133 homes. Forbes Wagon Creek Ranch, with 40- to 75-acre sites, where there are 26 homes and about 11,000
lots in all for sale. The remaining 180,000 or so acres of the ranch are reserved for other projects such as the conference
center and lodge and a number of guest houses, many of them historical and loaded with antiques.
Kip Forbes and his wife, Astrid, restored the 1912 Schley House and each summer spend several weeks there. A concrete
swimming pool built in June 1918, which bears the initials of youngsters there at the time, remains in use today. The house
is on the route to a chapel the couple recently completed. Kip Forbes, who spends more time in the San Luis Valley than
his four other siblings, has a favorite house on the 87,000-acre Blanca Trinchera, which continues to be a working cattle
ranch. The Lake House, built in the early 1950s overlooking a lake high in the mountains, is a large, rambling log ``cabin"
dressed with art, including some drawings by daughter Charlotte when she was a child. Of historical importance on the
Blanca Trinchera is the site of old Fort Massachusetts, the first U.S. fort. The fort, built in 1852 to protect the area from
raiding Indians, later was relocated to Fort Garland.
Around 1978, the Blanca Trinchera owners, Patsy and Bill Griffith of Santa Fe had Del Norte contractor Don Roberts build
a 16,000-square-foot mansion in a canyon on the property. The house, designed to look like Russian Czarina Catherine the Great's
Summer Palace, is built over a rushing stream. Despite its size, it has only a two-car garage. The Canyon House holds
some of the late Forbes' personal treasures. A long hallway displays his many honorary degrees. A large room, designed like
a tent off the entrance to the home, is festooned with the academic hoods, including one from Adams State College, that Forbes
acquired.
Throughout the house, Forbes memorabilia reminds one of Malcolm Forbes and his passion for collecting -- treasures and
homes.
(NOTE: We think the number of homes in the various subdivisions is much higher now than it was in 1993 when this
piece was written and researched. We also do not know where the Forbes' homes are exactly located because the
entire operation as it exists now, is very low key.)
