Events
Golden History Museum & Park programs explore a variety of historic subjects presented by expert instructors. Learn about your community or neighborhood. Apply historic skills in a modern way. Create something with your hands. There is sure to be a program to suit your interests!
Remember: Registration is required for most programs, even when free. Program will be canceled if minimum attendance number is not reached 24 hours prior to start time. Help us provide even more programming by signing up and attending. [Click for registration instructions, or scroll to bottom.]
Homesteaders’ Day
Celebrate Homesteaders’ Day! Experience 19th century homesteading, explore the historic cabins, try woodstove cooking, learn about blacksmithing, and take a lesson at the one-room schoolhouse. This event is drop-in style; there is no registration. Come any time between 10 am and 2 pm for any length of time.
The History Park is home to many of the original buildings from the old Pearce Ranch in Golden Gate Canyon. Thomas and Henrietta Pearce, pictured below, raised eight children on their ranch. It was one of the largest in the area by 1912. Read more here.
Thomas and Henrietta Pearce
Location and Pricing
Golden History Park
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.; drop in anytime
Free for all
Membership
Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.
Stroll through the History Museum on Candlelight Walk night and take a selfie in our “Epic Events” exhibit or listen to cheery holiday music. Visit the History Park and try a roasted chestnut. Explore the inside of the Pearce/Helps Cabin, warm up at the wood stove, watch live blacksmithing, and enjoy music and singing.
The History Park is home to many of the original buildings from the old Pearce Ranch in Golden Gate Canyon. Thomas and Henrietta Pearce raised eight children on their ranch. It was one of the largest in the area by 1912. Read more here.
These programs are free and there is no registration. Donations for park and museum programming are appreciated!
Here are some other Olde Golden Christmas & Holiday festivities offered by the Golden Chamber. 
Facility Rental
Learn how a Golden Museum Rental offers unique experiences that range from rustic to ritzy.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was one of the most divisive conflicts in U.S. history. On the 50-year anniversary of the 1968 protests, this lecture explores the origins of the anti-war movement, its impact on foreign policy and its place in American memory. Presented by University of Colorado – Denver Professor Dr. Greg Whitesides.
Dr. Greg Whitesides’ primary interests are the history of science, U.S. foreign policy and 20th century global history. His PhD studies emphasized the history of science, which involved archival research at the Human Genome Project, the National Institutes of Health and the National Archives (among others), and the eventual publication on the regulation of genetics and biomedicine.
After graduation, Dr. Whitesides worked for the University of Maryland and the Department of Defense in Japan and S. Korea before being hired by the University of Colorado in 2004. Since then, he has taught over 20 different classes in the CU system.
Location and Pricing
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
$0 members; $10 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.
The Story of Reuben Benton Hayward’s Murder—Part 1
Sarah Hayward and her daughters, 13-year-old Cora and 11-year-old Minnie, watched as Reuben Benton Hayward slapped reins to the bays that pulled his wagon down the lane toward Mount Vernon Canyon. With him in the wagon were two strangers, purportedly dish washers from the Overland Hotel in Golden, who had asked him for a ride to the Rooney Ranch. The date was September 10, 1879, and it was the last time Sarah and the girls would see Reuben alive.
Dennis Potter, retired Captain of the Jefferson County Colorado Sheriff’s Department, criminal justice professor, and previous presenter of the popular “Operation Hideout: The Investigation into the Kidnapping and Murder of Adolph Coors III” returns for this exciting program.
Location and Pricing
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
$0 members; $10 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.
Rowdy Colorado
Shell games, dollars hidden in soap bars, shoot-outs in saloons and in the streets, fawning ladies of the night, swarms of migrating rattlesnakes, and cattle rustling dandies all play their part in Colorado history.
Join us for a boisterous look at the early days of Colorado spanning from 1859-1930. Laughter encouraged.
Copies of Randi Samuelson-Brown‘s book, The Beaten Territory, will be available for purchase and signing.
Location and Pricing
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
$0 members; $10 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.
The Story of Reuben Benton Hayward’s Murder—Part 2
Reuben Benton Hayward was dead. Two men, accused of his death, awaited their fate at the Jefferson County Jail. A few minutes before midnight, a party of horsemen numbering close to 35 approached the jail from the south. These horsemen were closely followed by an equal number of people riding in wagons or on foot. 
One rider climbed a telegraph pole and cut the wires. Any communications to and from Golden was now muted. All of them were either masked or had their faces blackened. They had tools with them and together worked to open the heavy metal front door to the County Jail.
They were determined to hang the two men lodged inside who two weeks earlier had murdered their neighbor and friend, Reuben Benton Hayward.
Dennis Potter, retired Captain of the Jefferson County Colorado Sheriff’s Department, criminal justice professor, and previous presenter of the popular “Operation Hideout: The Investigation into the Kidnapping and Murder of Adolph Coors III” returns for this exciting program.
Location and Pricing
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
$0 members; $10 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.
Read the fine print and policies (updated 12-24-16).
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. 