Littleton

In 1858, gold was discovered where Little Dry Creek joins the South Platte River, four miles north of what is today Littleton. After the initial rush of gold—seekers, agriculture sustained growth when the gold deposits played out. In 1861, Richard S. Little filed claims for agricultural land along the South Platte River in what would become Littleton. Little was not only a farmer but a land developer, and he filed his plat at the Arapahoe County Courthouse in 1872 for streets and homes on h...