History in our own backyard

Upcoming Events​

Self-guided walking tours of historic downtown Littleton! Saturday, October 3, 10:30 a.m.
Take a stroll through history in Littleton, Roxborough’s neighbor to the north, next Saturday, October 3, starting at 10:30 a.m. Explore the Littleton Main Street Historic District downtown, or enjoy a fascinating stretch of mid-century modern design on the Littleton Boulevard Mid-Mod Mile, listed in 2014 as one of the most endangered places by Colorado Preservation, Inc. Or enjoy both!

In order to have a safe experience, we will have opportunities for you to explore two areas of historic Littleton on your own or in socially distanced groups. Each portion of the tour takes about 45 minutes. You can do both portions or just one at your own pace. Main Street is closed down to vehicle traffic over the weekend to allow restaurants and businesses to operate al fresco. Consider helping a small business while you're there -- more information can be found here: https://www.littletongov.org/connect-with-us/weekends-on-main.
 
Parking is available at the Littleton light rail station (5777 S. Prince St.), across from the Buck Center (2004 W. Powers Ave.), and in the Littleton municipal parking lot (2255 W. Berry Ave.). The downtown Littleton tour starts at the Littleton light rail station and the mid-century modern tour starts at Littleton Blvd. and Bemis St. Register to participate below and we will email info packets for you with the routes. (A dynamic map for those who want to do the downtown tour with a mobile device can find their information here as well.)
A limited number of hard copies of the tour routes will be available at the Roxborough location of Douglas County Libraries. (8357 N. Rampart Range Rd. Ste. 200)

    Register here for self-guided tour packets.

​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.