The area that is now home to the Town of Snowmass Village and the Snowmass Ski Area was settled by ranchers between 1890 and 1910. Included among these early settlers was the Hoaglund family having emigrated from Sweden. When a Hoaglund daughter married Bill Anderson, the Hoaflund Ranch became the Anderson Ranch. The Anderson Ranch was purchased by the Janss Colorado Corporation in the late 1950’s. Bill Janss continued to assemble land and prepared a development plan for the area in the mid-1960’s that included what was referred to as “Snowmass-At-Aspen”.
The Snowmass Corporation was formed and assumed responsibility for the development of the area. Originally planned for over 8,000-dwellings, the Pitkin County Commissioners negotiated a less-dense project. The final agreement included an area for permanent residents and an area for seasonal residents.
In 1967, the first ski lifts began operating. In 1977, the Town of Snowmass was incorporated.