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 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 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
Bradshaw Trail. 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 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 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.
[1] One of the famous visitors of Highland Springs was
Albert Einstein, a personal friend of the Hirsch family, who often came to the resort during his visits to
Caltech. Other celebrity visitors include,
Bob Hope,
Elizabeth Taylor,
Ernest Hemingway, and
Roy Rogers. 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.
[1] 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. == The Resort Today ==