John D. Parmalee came to Colorado in 1860 and settled in Mount Vernon. In 1866, he was granted a charter for a toll road between Morrison and Bradford Junction ; the Denver and Turkey Creek Toll Road opened in 1870. Parmalee also operated sawmills and shingle mills in the area. He was later commissioned to build a road from Turkey Creek to Bergen Park, along what is known as Parmalee Gulch. In 1885, Parmalee sold his interest in the toll road to Benjamin F. Eden, who became tollgate keeper from 1877 to 1883. In 1886, Eden sold the road to Jefferson County. Eden bought properties in the northern end of Parmalee Gulch, which became known as Eden Park. In time he acquired more than, attracting the interest of developers. With the Panic of 1893 and crash in silver prices, the development foundered and Eden recovered the property. He continued to farm the area, raising cattle, horses, hay, and potatoes. George W. Olinger, son of mortuary founders John and Emma Olinger, became interested in the area in 1918, and purchased the Eden property in 1921. Olinger planned a development to be called "Indian Hills," and built a golf course on part of Eden's land. The first filing was recorded at Jefferson County in June 1923, making Indian Hills the community's official name. Filings were named to recall the association with original inhabitants: Arrowhead Park, Ute & Cherokee Village, and Shawnee Village. "Eden Park" became the fifth filing of Olinger's development, and was platted in 1926. Models of summer cabins were built of logs, and small lots were sold to Denver residents seeking summer homes in the mountains.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,197 people, 494 households, and 338 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 254.8 people per square mile. There were 531 housing units at an average density of 113.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.74% White, 0.25% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.59% of the population. There were 494 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couplesliving together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.83. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 33.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $59,000, and the median income for a family was $61,538. Males had a median income of $45,536 versus $31,087 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $26,696. About 0.3% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over. Geneva Glen Camp is in Indian Hills, Colorado.
