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Carmichael Chronicles Newsletter
2024 – A YEAR OF FESTIVALS
This past year was a remarkable one for the Brighton City Museum. With the support of the Creative Community Grant we received, we had a blockbuster year of community events at the Museum. Despite having fewer volunteers than in previous years, we made key partnerships that made for a landmark year of fun.
For the first time, we were present at Brighton Summerfest in Carmichael Park. We were able to invite our friends from the Loveland Archaeological Society and their extensive collection of early lithic points and arrowheads. Additionally, they hosted a flint-knapper who gave lessons and demonstrated the ancient technique of making stone projectile points of the past.
If you missed the Brighton Japanese American Festival, you missed out! Don’t worry, it will be back bigger and better in 2025. We had over 600 visitors for the festival, which featured vendors, arts and crafts, and both Taiko drummers and the Minyo dancers from the Denver Buddhist temple. The BJAA also offered baked goods and Ninja Ramen sold so many bowls of noodle soup that they ran out early!
We continue to enjoy cooperation with the BHS Culinary Arts Program, local artists for our Dia De Los Muertos offrendas for fall, and now we our enjoying High School interns from District 27J and Prairie View High School. All of these folks and their teams made our Halloween and Holiday events better than ever, attracting new visitors.
We can always use more community support. Volunteers are waning, which happens sometimes as we all lead busy lives. We could really use some help from within our community because despite the image of being a place for artifacts, a museum is really about a community. We would love more volunteers to assist on multiple projects. See the information in this bulletin for how to volunteer.
Additionally, we tried some new events. We hosted “Haunts and History” at the Bromley farm and Historic City Hall. Guests followed our local ghost hunter through each building and enjoyed food and beverages as they attempted to interact with our reported spirits at each location. Let me just say, both locations have their share of things that “go bump in the night.”
We also received two AMAZING and rather large donations this year. One from the Graves family with rare photos of EARLY Brighton, and one from our very own Water Department which contains not only photos, but also but plans and architectural schematics. Both need documenting and cataloging. We always need help for public events, research, and so much more. Please contact the museum if you are interested.
Finally, speaking of donations, do you have something old and truly unusual? Have you considered donating it to the Museum? We are actively building a collection that reflects our unique cultural heritage and Brighton over time. Please contact us to find out more details.
So, let’s hear it for a bright new year. We hope to see you at one of our many events in the community as we re-emerge from winter in Spring of 2025.
Happy New Year,
Bill Armstrong
Museum Specialist
The Brighton Armory
The Brighton Armory was originally constructed in 1921, as a munitions storage facility and headquarters of Company K. The construction was part of a plan by the then-state legislature to build ten armories around the state and to establish a unit of the National Guard in each.
In September of 1940, the building was occupied by the headquarters Company 3rd Battalion.
The building is also significant for its architecture as it is one of the few examples of the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in Brighton.
In 2009, the Brighton Armory was designated as a Local Landmark.
Did You Know?
The Brighton Municipal Building, Town Hall, the Town Pump-Water Building, old Library, and the Senior Center, were housed within the walls of 575 Bush Street!
This building continued to be used as a water works, municipal building, and public library until 1972. In 1976, the building was converted to a Senior Center.
The Brighton Depot
In 1907, the Union Pacific depot building was constructed along Cabbage Avenue, so named due to the numerous cabbage loading docks along Second Avenue. It was the third depot building in Brighton, with the first built in 1870 (originally called “Hughes Station), followed by another in 1882.
The combination depot building was used as both a passenger and freight depot between Brighton and Denver, as well as for the rail traffic north to Greeley and Cheyenne, Wyoming from 1907 until 1964 when passenger services were discontinued along the line. Prior to 1964, public gatherings and meetings were common at the depot in the early part of the twentieth century, such as city-wide festivals.
On July 10, 1915, the Liberty Bell passed through Brighton on its way to San Francisco for an exhibition, attracting 1,000 to 1,500 people at the depot which was decorated with flags and bunting. After passenger service was discontinued, it housed offices for two employees assigned to freight depot control between Commerce City and Greeley from 1964 through 1980. In 1980, the Union Pacific gave the depot to the City of Brighton, which then transferred ownership to private owners. In 1981, it was moved by Howard Eyerly to 269 Bridge Street, on the opposite side of the tracks from its original location. A greenhouse addition was built on the south gable end of the building. It first housed a restaurant in its new location, and later a bicycle sales and repair shop. In 2018, the Brighton Depot was added to the Local Landmark Register.
New Brighton City Museum Exhibit
A new wing of our museum has been opened to celebrate Brighton’s rich farming history. Join us, at the Brighton City Museum, as we explore the reasons why agriculture played such a major role in the development and growth of our city.
Among the exhibits in this new wing, we pay tribute to the diversity of Brighton’s agricultural industry. Our exhibit explains how products such as sugar beets, livestock, dairy and canning all contributed to the growth of the agricultural industry in Brighton.
Admission is free and donations are always appreciated.
Our museum hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Shining Star of the Quarter
This quarter we would like to highlight the support of another major contributor to our museum. Karen Caddle has been a volunteer with the Brighton City Museum since August 2024.
Karen hails from Southern California, where she spent thirty-eight years as a VP Bank Manager. Upon retirement she was hired, in 2011, as a researcher for a private investigation firm in Signal Hill, CA.
Since joining us, Karen has been involved in several projects which have enriched our exhibits and the overall experience at the museum. Her first project was to transcribe the WWI letters from the Williams Graves collection. Her accuracy, attention to detail, and on-time delivery ensured that the information could be used upon completion. She is currently working on the forty-four original homesteaders of Henderson Island.
When not assisting at the museum, or working in the private sector, Karen enjoys finding cabinet card photographs and vintage postcards written between family members (1800’s – WWII) and locating their descendants. In addition, she volunteers with CASA, which provides court-appointed volunteer advocacy for at-risk children and youth.
Congratulations Karen! Your dedication and outstanding contributions have earned you the title of "Shining Star of the Quarter.”