Tweet Kimball

Kimball in 1938

Mildred Montague Genevieve "Tweet" Kimball (14 June 1914–16 January 1999),[1][2] was an American rancher, art collector, and heiress who owned and lived on the 3,400-acre (1,376 ha) Cherokee Ranch and its associated castle north of Sedalia in Douglas County, Colorado, from 1954 until her death. Born to a wealthy Tennessee family and raised in Chattanooga, Kimball moved to Colorado following her divorce from diplomat husband Merritt Ruddock.

During her time at Cherokee Ranch, Kimball promoted and bred Santa Gertrudis cattle in a colder environment than ever previously done. Her lobbying saw the National Western Stock Show introduce the exhibition and sale of Santa Gertrudis; Kimball eventually became the first female member of the National Western Stock Show Association. Kimball also accumulated a preserved collection which includes 14 original architectural drawings by Christopher Wren, a Queen Anne desk, and two first-edition sets of Winston Churchill's works. Kimball established a foundation prior to her death, preserving her collections, the castle, and ranch land–the latter of which includes portions of the Cherokee Ranch petrified forest and forms part of a larger 12,000-acre open space with the Highlands Ranch Backcountry Wilderness and Daniels Park.

  1. ^ Saldias, Constanza (June 10, 2014). "Celebrate Tweet Kimball's 100th birthday at Waterloo at Cherokee Castle & Ranch". Westword. Denver. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  2. ^ "Tweet Kimball, 84". The Baltimore Sun. January 19, 1999. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2023.