The Great History of Cloud 9 Ranch Club

Cloud 9 Ranch is Born

On January 26, 1972 a group of local land developers purchased the deed to the former 6,518 acre cattle ranch once owned by J. Van Cloud at a foreclosure sale at the courthouse in Gainesville. The developers announced that they would operate under the name "Cloud 9 Ranches, Inc." and planned to make the property a showplace of natural beauty.

The developers went right to work. They utilized local contractors, which included a crew of 40 men, 20 carpenters, six bulldozer operators, two grade operators and a chainsaw gang of 37 men to begin the improvements. At that time the only access to the ranch was the county road, so work began immediately on the front entrance road, and by late February it had been graded and the Cloud 9 Ranch sign and fencing at the front had been completed. By early March remodeling of the main ranch building, which included 12 rooms and a recreation area, had been completed and construction of the store, swimming pool and other buildings and facilities was well under way.

The marketing concept involved dividing the ownership of the ranch into 6,000 undivided interest shares, with each member receiving a deed for 1/6000th. When all 6,000 shares had been purchased, the members would take over the ownership and operation of the ranch. Originally the developers had also planned to open four additional "Cloud 9 Ranches" throughout the country, which was attractive to many people who traveled and camped extensively, but this never materialized. Eventually however, the developers joined the Coast-to-Coast campground network, which has proved a great convenience for many ranch members.

The ranch formally opened in June of 1972 with only one incomplete campground at Wilder Springs, but by the end of the year 11 new buildings had been completed, including the club house, store, youth center, welcome center building, fire/security building, pavillion, the barn, and five stage stops. By the end of the first year the main road into the ranch had been blacktopped, and the ranch had two campgrounds and 90 members.

Up, Up and Away!

Over the next several years many additional improvements were made, and more were in the planning stages. By 1976 the Hill Country and Fogey Hollow campgrounds had been completed, along with a new laundromat and gas station. Plans were in place for the new, bigger "Big Top" open air pavillion and a fenced-in pool. By 1977 the Lonesome Pines campground had been completed, the road down to Fogey had been blacktopped, a waste control facility (which we now call the Lagoon) was constructed on the hill west of Hill Country campground, and registration was being done at the new gatehouse instead of the security building. Plans had also been finalized for construction of a storage compound on the hill between the Clubhouse and stable.  By 1980 the Hill Country Annex campground had been completed, and the ranch had about 1,750 members.

Work continued through the early 80s, and the basic framework for the ranch as we know it today was firmly in place. By 1983 construction of the dance pavillion, the fitness course, a new storage facility west of Hill Country Road, and another stage stop had been completed. The Craft house was converted from what was once Gene Bean's house, and the kids had dammed up the tubes area and created the swimming hole. Within 10 years of its inception, the membership had grown to over 3,800 happy campers.

Since that time there have been a number of improvements made by the members of Cloud 9 Ranch through their generous donations of time, money, and materials. In 1989 the Chapel building was constructed by members, and a few years later in 1994 the historic Valley Star School was relocated from its original location near the front entrance road to its present location across from Lonesome Pine campground, and restored.

Cloud 9 Ranch Club - The Pride of Ownership

In 1997 the property was purchased from the developers by 4,500 members and incorporated as "Cloud 9 Ranch Club, Inc.".

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