Historic Highlandlake, Inc. was originally founded in 1917 with the sole mission of protecting, and maintaining the United Church of Christ - Congregational of Highlandlake building.

The building was closed in 1917 as a church as the congregation could no longer afford to pay a minister. Still the building was so precious to the community that the thought that it might be torn down was more than the residents could bear. They reached an agreement with the Congregational Association of Denver that if they formed a board of directors to oversee the use and maintenance of the building and open the church at least once a year to the public, the citizens of Highlandlake would be able to retain their beloved building.

In 1921, several former members of the church met in Berthoud at Paul Mead's home in Berthoud. During dinner the topic of having a Pioneer Picnic at the church came up. The first picnic was so successful that it became an annual event. Last June, we held our 84th consecutive reunion at the church.

In 1987, the church building was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. In 1997, we pursued acquiring a clear title to the building. A few years later, the Pioneer cemetery was donated to our organization.

The March 2003 near record blizzard brought additional changes and a new challenge to our organization. It was discovered shortly after the snow melted that the heavy weight of the snow caused the foundation to give way beneath the building, the walls were pulling away from the floors and the roof was sagging. Immediate fundraising efforts were started. Emergency and Historic Structure Assessment grants were applied for and received from the State Historical Fund (SHF). These grants allowed us to stabilize the building until further grants and funds could be obtained. In the spring of 2004, we received an additional match grant from SHF to help pay to repair the structural damage. In July 2005, we received notice of being awarded a match grant to complete the repairs and restoration of the building. When finished, our beloved building will once again play host to the many weddings, reunions, tours, and events that traditionally are held in our community.

While our mission and focus has grown beyond the original vision of our founders, we continue to hold the history of our community and the surrounding area as sacred. In future years, we hope to expand our influence in the community, continue to preserve our historic properties, and promote awareness and appreciation in the Highlandlake/Mead community for their historical heritage.