History in our own backyard

Upcoming Events​

Roxborough Area Historical Society Annual Meeting and Special Presentation, Thursday, January 21, 7:00 p.m.
Join us for our annual meeting and special presentation by Shaun Boyd! After a short business meeting, History Colorado's Curator of Archives Shaun Boyd will present a lively program about Florence Martin, a woman who broke barriers early in her life and then changed the Denver and Douglas County landscape. From Australian physicist to worldly Denver philanthropist, Miss Martin "preserved" the landscape of a big area of Douglas County now known as Daniels Park in the early decades of the 20th century.
 
Shaun Boyd has been the Curator of Archives at History Colorado for 3 years, where she takes care of all the paper based and/or information-intensive "stuff". Prior to that, she spent 19 years as an Archivist with the Douglas County Libraries. She continues to live in Parker. She has been fascinated with women's history since a young age, growing up in the hometown of Carrie Chapman Catt, a leader in the women's suffrage movement. Shaun has an MA in History from Colorado State University, and a Master's of Library and Information Science from Emporia State University.  

Our meeting will be on Zoom and registration will be required for login information.
As a reminder, membership renewals are due in January. Information on how to renew your membership is on our Membership page.

    Register here for annual meeting information

​Membership reminder:
Become a member of RAHS and you'll assist in bringing information about history in our own backyard to others. Please consider renewing your membership if you are already a member! Annual memberships begin on January 1 of each year and remain active until the following December 31. Individual annual memberships are $25, family annual memberships are $30, lifetime memberships are $200 (includes immediate family) and business/corporate annual memberships are $100.

 2021 Events
We're busy planning events for 2021 -- Check back for more details!
What we're working on:
Central City tour
Schmidt Nature Park @Roxborough Park Community

Thank You!  Our kiln is stabilized!

The Roxborough Area Historical Society would like to thank the Roxborough Park Foundation, History Colorado (the source of the majority of funding), and Colorado Preservation, Inc., for all their assistance in moving this project forward. RAHS also wants to thank everyone who generously supported the drive to raise matching funds. Without these dollars, there would be no “Save the Kiln.” Stay tuned for more information about this project!

​In 2018, we used a grant from the State Historical Fund to stabilize the kiln and additional funds will continue to be raised to add safety enclosures, pathways and educational signage for visitors to enjoy and learn about the history and significance of the Kiln.

​On behalf of the Silica Kiln, the Roxborough Area Historical Society wants to thank each and every one of the individuals and families of Roxborough; Douglas County Libraries; Northwest Economic Development Corporation; Sterling Ranch; RE/MAX Edge; Eagle Home Mortgage; Hasson Financial, Inc.; Roxborough Park Foundation and the Art Committee; Charter Financial Services (Memory Lane); Subway; Domino's; Safeway; Garlic Knot; Historic Douglas County, Inc.; West Metro Fire Station #15; Seven Stones Chatfield Cemetery; Roxborough Liquors; Cardel Homes; our fantastic Elementary School Students; and so very many others who contributed money & their time to reach the goal of raising the necessary matching funds for the $102,543.00 grant from The State Historical Fund.
 
A very special thank you goes out to Art Tonelli, Susie Trumble and Colorado Preservation, Inc. who carried the torch for years, tenaciously and tirelessly working behind the scenes to research & preserve the history, submit the grants (multiple years) and coordinate with all the necessary entities to make this happen.

​For those of you who may not know, one of the area's main industries was the Silicated Brick Company that produced distinctive white bricks. The bricks were made with sand excavated from the nearby hogback to the south and west of the kiln that contained feldspar deposits mixed with calcium silicates. The kiln burned limestone into lime which was added to silica sand.  The bricks were not baked, but cured by a process using high pressure steam. The Kiln site was designated as a Douglas County Historical Landmark on August 22, 2007. The small community named Silica located in the area supported the miners and brickyard workers. There was even a narrow gauge rail spur, the Silica Branch, of the Colorado and Southern Railway (formerly the Denver South Park & Pacific) which was used to transport the bricks.

Images of America: Roxborough
The Arcadia Publishing Company announced that the book Roxborough is here! The Roxborough Area Historical Society was chosen as the organization to launch the history book.
Longtime Roxborough Park residents and co-authors Flo Tonelli and Char Nauman spent months collecting information and images to recount Roxborough’s historical past. Both are founding members of the Roxborough Area Historical Society. 

ROXBOROUGH  receives Metro recognition. Char Nauman and Flo Tonelli’s book ROXBOROUGH was listed as a Denver POST’s Local Best Sellers in the August 21, 2016 edition. ROXBOROUGH placed third in the Paperback Nonfiction section. You can purchase Flo and Char’s popular book by emailing roxboroughhistory@gmail.com.