Events
Upcoming Events and Programs
Homestead Open House
Homestead Open House is a series of open days that will allow you to experience 1800s homesteading life. It’s held on summer Saturdays at Golden History Park, adjacent to downtown Golden.
Activities
Homestead Open House may include the following fun, volunteer-led activities:
- woodstove cooking
- cabin exploration
- schoolhouse lesson
- blacksmithing
This event is drop-in style; there is no registration. Come any time between 10 am and 2 pm.
Each event will be unique based on how many and which volunteers are available to interpret their craft.
The History Park is home to many of the original buildings from the old Pearce Ranch in Golden Gate Canyon. Stroll through the park and imagine yourself growing potatoes or raising chickens as part of a homesteading family. Peek through the windows of real 1800s cabins and see other buildings from the ranch like the barn, chicken coop and two-seat outhouse. Also, see the 1876 Guy Hill schoolhouse which was originally located in the canyon too, but on a different property. It served the needs of canyon locals until 1951.
We reserve the right to cancel any occurrence with short notice.
Location and Pricing
Golden History Park
10 am – 2 pm; drop in anytime
Free for all
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
Facility Rental
Learn how a Golden Museum Rental offers unique experiences that range from rustic to ritzy.
Our rustic three-acre park is ideal for those with a “Do It Yourself (DIY)” mindset. Whether you are interested in having your wedding ceremony and/or reception with us or intent on hosting a large event such as family reunion or a corporate retreat, Golden History Park offers a unique experience for your guests. It’s only a short walk from downtown Golden which features shopping, restaurants, and more.
PARTNER PROGRAM
Jefferson County was such an active center for moonshining, bootlegging, speakeasies, and roadhouses that the Rocky Mountain News stated that no one from Jeffco should be allowed into Denver! This program explores the reasons behind Prohibition (1920-1933), how the liquor laws were violated in Jeffco, who was responsible for enforcing them, and how Prohibition was finally rejected.
It is narrated by JCHC member John Steinle, author, historian, and former History Education Supervisor for Jeffco Open Space.
You can access the program via You Tube.
The Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) is pleased to present its 17th Annual
Historical Preservation Symposium. Due to the pandemic, these free educational programs will be
presented virtually (online) on three separate Tuesday evenings in October.
Founded in 1976, the JCHC serves to promote and foster historic preservation in Jeffco; educate
others about the people, places and events that have shaped Jeffco; and honor those who
value and steward Jeffco’s rich heritage. For fascinating information about Jeffco’s history, read
our award-winning annual magazine, Historically Jeffco.
Place and Identity in Contemporary Indigenous Literature
This is a virtual event. Register on eventbrite.
Join us on Indigenous Peoples’ Day to explore the fluidity of place as Indigenous writers demonstrate the survival and flourishing of their communities through literature. This presentation is based on Dr. Paula Farca’s book, Identity in Place: Contemporary Indigenous Fiction by Women Writers in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (2011). Dr. Farca will focus on how Indigenous peoples survive in a postcolonial world, heal, regain homes and rituals, and subsequently build new homes and create new traditions.
About the presenter: Paula Farca
Paula Farca received her PhD and a second MA from Oklahoma State University. Her research focuses on two main areas: 1. contemporary, indigenous, and women’s literature and 2. literature on energy and the environment. Along with numerous articles and book chapters, Paula has published Identity in Place: Contemporary Indigenous Fiction by Women Writers in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (2011), Make Waves: Water in Contemporary Literature and Film (2019), and coauthored A Student’s Guide to Nature and Human Values (2010 and 2013). Paula also edited two anthologies: Energy in Literature: Essays on Energy and Its Social and Environmental Implications in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literary Texts (2015) and Speculations: An Anthology for Reading, Writing, and Research (2006). Since 2008, when she joined HASS, she has tried to introduce our future engineers to the joy and intellectual excitement of reading and critical thinking and inspire them to become competent writers. Paula is currently a teaching professor at the Colorado School of Mines.
Pricing
Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
Facility Rental
Learn how a Golden Museum Rental offers unique experiences that range from rustic to ritzy.
PARTNER PROGRAM
William “Cement Bill” Williams, c. 1940
This program illuminates the creation of the automobile road up Lookout Mountain by one of Jeffco’s most colorful characters, William “Cement Bill” Williams. Andrea Keppers, Curator and Education Specialist for the Hiwan Homestead Museum, will lead us through this fascinating insight into the determination, skill, and often herculean effort it took to complete this scenic highway in 1913. Cement Bill’s dedication to the success of Golden laid the foundation for what is still one of the county’s most popular attractions.
You can access the program via You Tube.
The Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) is pleased to present its 17th Annual
Historical Preservation Symposium. Due to the pandemic, these free educational programs will be
presented virtually (online) on three separate Tuesday evenings in October.
Founded in 1976, the JCHC serves to promote and foster historic preservation in Jeffco; educate
others about the people, places and events that have shaped Jeffco; and honor those who
value and steward Jeffco’s rich heritage. For fascinating information about Jeffco’s history, read
our award-winning annual magazine, Historically Jeffco.
The Other June Six – A Story about the 1894 Cripple Creek Miners’ Strike
This is a virtual event. Register on eventbrite.
Cripple Creek, Colorado, circa 1900, embodied American business. Mine owners attempted to take immense riches from the ground by investing enormous capital to fund expensive machinery, industrial treatment, and men to pull the ore and run the machines. Laborers and owners shared some interests but often disagreed over pay, hours, safety, and management practices. Inevitable frustrations mounted on both sides until finally, in 1894, laborers in the Western Federation of Miners fought the Cripple Creek Mine Owners Association. This struggle was ruthless and bloody with numerous miners and other citizens caught in the melee. Join presenter Stan Moore in this presentation about the Cripple Creek miners’ strike, which is based on his historical novel Mister Hamlin’s List.
About the presenter: Stan Moore
Stan Moore is a husband, father, and grandfather; a third generation Coloradan; a graduate of the University of Colorado; an author and historian; a Vietnam veteran; a retired small business owner; an amateur blacksmith, and an avid mountaineer, backpacker and desert rat. Moore and his wife make their home near Denver with a cat that lets them stay there. More information can be found at stanmoorewriter.com.
Pricing
Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
Facility Rental
Learn how a Golden Museum Rental offers unique experiences that range from rustic to ritzy.
RESCHEDULED FROM 2019
Viva Los Americanos! Colorado Volunteer Infantry in the Philippines, 1898-1899
Viva los Americanos looks at the adventures, trials and tribulations of the First Colorado Volunteers who fought in the Philippines in the Spanish American War. Follow the 1898-1899 exploits of the First Colorado as they travel from Denver to Manila to first fight the Spanish and then later the Filipinos. Get to know such Colorado characters as Dr. Rose Kidd Beere, Sgt. Dick Holmes, and Colonel Henry McCoy.
Presenter Geoff Hunt earned his Bachelors of Arts in History at the University of Wyoming, Masters of Arts in Museum Studies at Cooperstown, NY, and Ph.D. in History from the University of Colorado Boulder. Hunt was the Founding Director of Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, and just retired after 22 years as Professor of History at the Community College of Aurora.
Pricing
Programs are free for members and $10 for non-members (plus eventbrite fee).
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
History in the Baking: Thanksgiving Traditions
Join museum director Nathan Richie and his children, Julia and Colin, as they learn about Thanksgiving traditions in Golden and make a surprise holiday treat. Tune in to Facebook Live at 2 pm.
There is no registration for this event.
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
Have you ever wondered why chestnuts roasting on an open fire is a Christmas tradition? Do you know the origin behind holiday greeting cards? Join us for Christmas in the Park for a taste of roasted chestnuts and learn the history behind some favorite traditions. This family event allows you to stroll through the Golden History Park, take in the colorful lights, peek through the windows, grab some goodies, and bask in the season.
What’s for Dinner in 1920
Rescheduled program
Have you ever wondered what shopping for dinner was like without the shopping cart? Or how your current grocery bill compares to that of the 1920s? In the 1920s, foodways were on the edge of revolutionary change, as industrial and household technologies were about to transform what, and how, America ate. Join historian Dr. Geoff Hunt as we explore grocery shopping and American diets in the Roaring Twenties.
About the presenter: Geoff Hunt
Presenter Geoff Hunt earned his Bachelors of Arts in History at the University of Wyoming, Masters of Arts in Museum Studies at Cooperstown, NY, and Ph.D. in History from the University of Colorado Boulder. Hunt was the Founding Director of Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, and just retired after 22 years as Professor of History at the Community College of Aurora.
Pricing
Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
Other programs
A whole host of other programs are available from Golden History Museum & Park. Check our events page for details and register today!
More Golden History
Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.
On May 3, 1855, a small number of mercenaries referred to as the Immortals, boarded a ship in San Francisco and sailed under the command of William Walker to Nicaragua. These hired guns fought alongside nationalistic troops at Rivas in order to open the South American country to slavery. Unfortunately for the Immortals, the Battle of Rivas was ill conceived and poorly led. They were lucky to escape Nicaragua with their lives. Rumors abounded in California that a number of Walker’s Immortals had somehow reached Golden City and in the process unleashed the infamous Arapahoe Snow Eater.
Four months before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Mildred McClellan Melville, a member of the Denver Woman’s Press Club, predicted that war would come for the United States. Colorado women from every corner of the state enlisted in the military, joined the workforce, and volunteered on the home front. Whether or not they worked outside the home, they wholeheartedly participated in a kaleidoscope
of activities to support the war effort.
“Equal Rights, Which Equal Laws Must Protect”: Religion, Race, and Constitutional Conflict in American Education
As public education systems began to integrate in the 1960s, private schools—especially religious private schools—became havens for whites seeking segregated education for their children. The people involved with these religious private schools believed themselves to be fulfilling what they saw as God’s mandate to keep the races separate. The ardent religious beliefs intertwined with the private academies’ discriminatory practices, however, created a challenge for the legal system. It was attempting to enact the legal requirements of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which mandated the elimination of all support for discriminatory institutions by the government. Join Dr. Amanda Beyer-Purvis of MSU-Denver to explore how governmental institutions confronted each other over how to balance between the right to church autonomy and religious free-expression and the mandates of desegregation.
About the presenter: Dr. Amanda Beyer-Purvis
Dr. Amanda Beyer-Purvis is a Project Manager with the CLAS Office of Inclusive Excellence in STEM at the University of Colorado Denver. She is also an affiliate faculty member with the History Department at MSU Denver. She began her academic career in Religious Studies, but found her way to History via an interest in the U.S. legal system and its relationship with educational equity. Her research into systemic inequity in education pulled her out of the archives and into a career working to increase equity and justice in higher education.
Pricing
Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
RESCHEDULED
What are we really arguing about? Environmentalism in the 21st Century
Sandy Woodson
Climate change has emerged as the central environmental problem facing humanity in the 21st century. According to NASA, 97% of climate scientists agree that climate change is occurring. There are daily news items featuring truly stunning facts about hurricanes, melting glaciers, increased turbulence during trans-Atlantic flights, etc. Many Americans, however, remain unpersuaded or even infuriated by this barrage of bad news. This lecture uses philosophical tools to unpack the competing claims that surround environmental issues, and to provide new ways of looking at the arguments that continue to pit us against each other.
Sandy Woodson teaches ethics and environmental philosophy at the Colorado School of Mines. She holds degrees from North Carolina State University, Colorado State University, and the University of Montana. She has been teaching at Mines since 1999.
Pricing
Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
Colorado Water and the American West
“Golden, Colorado, and Entrance to Clear Creek Canon [sic], from Castle Rock Mountain Scenic Incline Railway. Denver Mountain Parks.”
This is a rescheduled and (now) virtual program
Please join us for a discussion dedicated to Colorado’s most precious resource: water. Matthew S. Makley, Professor of History at MSU Denver, will offer a lecture and conversation about the history of water in Colorado and the American West. This sweeping exploration begins with a look at how First Peoples used water on the Colorado Plateau and concludes with a brief examination of how Denver has developed its water infrastructure. This session will offer participants a basic understanding of Colorado water law, along with a few quick case studies, including the story of the Civil War veteran Rueben Coffin and his battle with the Lefthand Ditch Company for water rights in the late 1800s. If you have ever been curious about water in Colorado, this lecture will help quench your thirst.
About the presenter: Matthew S. Makley
Matthew S. Makley, PhD, is a Professor of History at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He is the author of two books. His most recent, The Small Shall be Strong: A History of Lake Tahoe’s Washoe Indians (2018), won an American Library Association’s award for “Outstanding Academic Title.” Born and raised at Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Makley has lived in Golden since 2007. While his heart is in the canyons and valleys of the Sierra Nevada, he has come to call Colorado and the Rockies home.
Pricing
Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
How to register
Click the green ticket button in the upper left of each event to buy tickets online. 
Click “read more” in the lower right of each event for details. 
Event and Program Ticketing Policies at Golden History Museum & Park
(updated 11-20-18).
Please note: Tickets will only be available at the door if the program reaches its preregistration minimum.
Weather: All events are rain or shine. Tickets will not be refunded for any inclement weather including but not limited to snow, wind, rain or extreme temperatures.
Cancellation: GHM&P reserves the right to cancel a program for any reason. A full refund will occur automatically and notification sent if GHM&P cancels a program for any reason.
Refunds: Participants will not receive a refund except in the event that GHM&P cancels the program.
Facilities: Restrooms are not available on-site at the Golden History Park or Golden Cemetery. If at the Golden History Park, participants may use public restrooms located on 12th Street. Please call ahead to ask about accessibility concerns and mobility recommendations.
Additional details: Please note the minimum age requirements of some of our programs. Excessive disruptive behavior and any safety risks may result in a participant being asked to leave a program at the instructor’s discretion. Pets are not permitted at programs; service animals are permitted.
To purchase tickets, cancel your registration, or learn more about our events and ticketing policy, please call the Golden History Museum front desk during business hours at 303-278-3557.