Depot Museum Grew from the Dedication of Many to Preserve the Memories of Broomfield

By Kristen Beckman

“Have you ever heard the expression “You start out carrying a calf and end up carrying a cow?” asked Karen McGuire, the Broomfield Depot Museum’s first director, when asked about the museum’s beginnings.

The metaphor aptly describes the effort that went into moving the aging railroad depot building built in 1909 a mile down the road and turning it into a museum that now holds memories and artifacts representing more than 100 years of Broomfield history.

“We started out small,” recalled McGuire. “We had no idea what it was going to turn into.”

The museum’s journey from a depot serving the Colorado & Southern Railroad, to a historical landmark was only possible through the perseverance of McGuire, Peggy Atkinson, and a host of dedicated volunteers, not to mention the city, which supported the effort. In 1975, C&S Railroad sold the building to the Broomfield Jaycees for $1 on the condition the city would move the building, and so the building was loaded onto a flatbed truck and driven to its current location at Zang Spur Park.

McGuire and her husband were involved in the building’s move and resurrection as a museum thanks to her husband’s interest in railroads as a former railroad worker himself who came from a family of railroaders in Nebraska. The couple lived just a few blocks from the depot while it was still in operation, and McGuire’s husband and station attendant Herb Rutledge had become friends.

After the building was moved, McGuire and her husband joined the newly established Broomfield Historical Society, which had the vision to turn the relocated building into a museum that chronicled not only the history of the depot and railroad, but also of Broomfield and its earliest residents.

“There was no money for anybody to be paid to work there, so we were all volunteers,” said McGuire. “We had bake sales and book sales and we sold fruit cakes over the years. We had amazing volunteers that would come in their old jeans and strip paint off of things. It was a lot of work for a lot of people - dedicated people that hung in there for a lot of years.”

We had bake sales and book sales and we sold fruit cakes over the years. We had amazing volunteers that would come in their old jeans and strip paint off of things. It was a lot of work for a lot of people - dedicated people that hung in there for a lot of years.”

McGuire interviewed many of Broomfield’s founding residents to preserve their memories. She recalls interviewing Joe Huddart, owner of the Broomfield Lumber Company from 1924 to 1985, and driving through the town with Lib Brunner, who would point out where things used to be before Broomfield blossomed into a bustling suburb of Denver.

We started out small,” recalled McGuire. “We had no idea what it was going to turn into.”

“It was so valuable and so critical because these people were elderly and we were losing them so we were losing the history,” said McGuire.

In 1983, the museum opened, with public hours on Sunday and school children visiting for tours during the week.

“We had a lot of school children through in the winter and that just worked out perfectly,” said Atkinson, who took the reins from McGuire to become the museum’s second director. “The kids from Kohl could walk over because there wasn’t that much traffic and the classes weren’t that big.”

During one such tour, Atkinson said a man knocked on the door of the museum to donate a beautiful radio, which they immediately placed in the living room of the building. She recalled that the children were fascinated with the radio and eager to listen to it.

Atkinson was also involved with getting the Honey House moved to its current spot near the museum.

“On the day they brought it over, I was standing on the north side of the museum, and they came around the curb there and almost tipped it over,” said Atkinson. “Oh my word, we all caught our breath.”

One of Atkinson’s proudest achievements was getting the grave of Shep, Broomfield’s tollbooth dog, moved to the museum. Shep was a stray who spent his days in the tollbooth on Highway 36, where travelers would bring him food and treats. When Shep died in 1964, he was buried near the tollbooth. In 2009, Atkinson successfully convinced the city to move his grave to the museum’s property so it wouldn’t be lost to construction.

“I’m so glad that we did what we all did,” said Atkinson, who said she thinks of the museum as Broomfield’s ‘Forever Museum.’ “I feel that we saved those things for all the future and everybody that comes to Broomfield.”

Today the Broomfield Depot Museum at 2201 W. 10th Ave. is open every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For information visit:

www.broomfield.org/120/Broomfield-Depot-Museum