Revisiting The Littleton Museum

 It has been  a while since I last visited the Littleton Museum, located in that town just south of Denver, and so decided this past Saturday to take advantage of a break in the weather and do so.  Despite my rant the other day about the ugliness of most of Denver's suburbs, there are some exceptions,  all of which began as independent towns back in the 1860s. Littleton, like Arvada, began as a farming community, and both eventually became centers for commerce in the area.  Golden and Boulder (although Boulder, despite being close, is not really a suburb) started as communities supplying miners.  The Littleton Museum consists of a modern facility with historical exhibits, but more importantly, includes two "living history farms" from the 1860s and 1890s.

The 1860s farm consists of a one room cabin, as seen in the photograph on the right.  It is protected by a guard cat (in the bottom right hand corner of the photo).  I have walked past this building on other visits, but never went inside, which I wound up doing Saturday.  The cat followed me in, of course (that is it's job, after all), and kept a close watch on on me the entire time I was there.  There was a large fireplace in the room, along with pots and pans and and various other household items, and I must say you have to admire the pioneers who lived there.  And I did check at the front desk and verified that this was indeed the original building from the 1860s.

The 1890s farmhouse, seen in the photograph on the left, was more comfortable, with a living room, dining room, kitchen, and two bedrooms.  It was also filed with Victorian era furniture, and would still be a very nice place to live.  Of course, I assume that if you did try to move in, museum staff might object, and so I recommend not trying.  And in addition to the museum building and the old farmhouses, the site also includes a lake, lots of places to hike, and a working farm with lots of animals.  What could be nicer?  Plus, just like the Lakewood Heritage Center, admission is free, which, I have often mentioned, is my favorite price-point.  On the other hand, the History Colorado Center, Denver's historical museum, charges an admission cost of $14 ($12 for seniors), and they don't even have any live animals.  Talk about a ripoff.