Learn About Broomfield’s History with Museum Sponsored Event Series

By Missy Ruzicka

Broomfield is much more than just another suburb of Denver, for those of us who live in and around Broomfield, we have seen it grow by leaps and bounds while somehow still managing to keep its small town feeling.

Broomfield’s history may date back to the 1800s but 1909 is when the Colorado and Southern Railroad built the Broomfield Depot. It was built with a family in mind and served the railway for many decades at its original location on 120th and Olde Wadsworth, closing in 1967, moving to its Zang location in 1976, and finally becoming a museum rich in Broomfield history in 1982.

It is hard to move forward as a community if we do not know our history, and thanks to the staff and volunteers at Broomfield’s Depot Museum, we can see how the town we all know and love began. Admission is free to the public and the Depot Museum and Crawford Honey House are open every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The museum has some great educational and adventurous events coming up this fall.

Friends of Broomfield History proudly presents the Broomfield History Tour, Saturday, October 7, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Learn about Broomfield’s earliest inhabitants up to the 1940s which will cover prehistoric people to Native Americans, the homesteaders, farmers, entrepreneurs, railroad workers, and even bank robbers who called this land home. The tour will hit all of Broomfield’s historical sites starting at the Depot and Crawford Honey House, traveling to Brunner and Kozisek Farmhouses, Lakeview Cemetery, Crescent Grange, Broomfield State Bank, Metzger Farm, and ending at Anne Crouse Park. This historic full day adventure is $10 for adults and $5 for children, and you can buy your tickets at www. friendsofbroomfieldhistory.org ahead of time or at the Depot the day of.

Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History and Afrofuturism Exhibit comes to the Depot Museum in partnership with the Museum of Boulder, starting October 7 and continuing most Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Afrofuturism sits at the intersection of science fiction and real-life activism as a hopeful, creative Black response to American racism that emerged during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Come learn about Broomfield’s response to those tumultuous times in the context of Colorado’s Black History Month and Afrofuturism.

October 18 brings a Pulse Event, Pulse Gathering for Creatives: Launch of a New Project at The Refuge, 11600 Quay Street #200 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Come celebrate the Arts and Humanities month with the Broomfield’s Arts and History team by launching a new, multi-year project. It will span multiple years and include amplifying community stories and creating new works of art and culture inspired by those stories. Learn more about this exciting new project, how you can participate, and hear the first story representing The Refuge, a hub for healing community, social action, and creative collaboration. Enjoy an accompanying performance that will turn a story into poetry and spoken word, followed by an opportunity by Lighthouse Writers Workshop to share your own story and to hear new ones in return. Stories, performances, and so much more and a community meal are included. Don’t miss out on this new chapter and reserve your seat today at Broomfield.org/PULSE.