Littleton, Colorado

History

The city of Littleton's history dates back to the 1859 Pike's Peak gold rush, which brought not just gold seekers, but merchants and farmers to the community. Richard Sullivan Little was an engineer from New Hampshire who came West to work on irrigation systems. Little soon decided to settle in the area at present day Littleton and brought his wife Angeline from the East in 1862. The Littles and neighbors built the Rough and Ready Flour Mill in 1867, which provided a solid economic base in the community. By 1890, the community had grown to 245 people and the residents voted to incorporate the Town of Littleton.

Littleton grew significantly throughout the 1950s and 1960s due to its proximity to Denver and to the Martin Marietta facilities, which produced the Titan rocket and other aerospace products. Littleton is today fully engulfed in metropolitan Denver.

Littleton became widely known in 1999 when the Columbine High School massacre occurred, where two of the school's students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher, injured 23 others and then killed themselves. News media wrongly reported that the incident happened in the city, because the school's ZIP code is primarily associated with Littleton. The school is located in adjacent Columbine, an unincorporated community, which is not a place name accepted by the U.S. Postal Service; by default, locations in ZIP code 80123 use "Littleton" in their mailing addresses. Columbine High School is in the Jefferson County Public Schools school district and is not one of the schools in the Littleton Public Schools school district. Despite this, the city became linked with the incident in the view of the public.

Geography

Littleton is located in central Colorado north of the junction of U.S. Route 85 and Colorado State Highway 470; the city is 9 mi south of downtown Denver and 55 mi north of Colorado Springs.

Littleton lies on the South Platte River in the Colorado Piedmont region of the Great Plains a few miles east of the Front Range of the Southern Rocky Mountains. Most of the city lies on the east side of the river. Several small tributaries of the river flow northwest through the city; from north to south, these include Big Dry Creek, Slaughterhouse Gulch, Lee Gulch, and Dad Clark Gulch. In addition, several small lakes and reservoirs are located along the river in the southwestern part of the city. Immediately west of the river are Cooley Lake, Bufflehead Lake, South Platte Reservoir, Eaglewatch Lake, Redtail Lake, and Blackrock Lake. Wolhurst Lake and McLellen Reservoir are east of the river, fed and drained by Dad Clark Gulch. Chatfield Reservoir lies immediately southwest of the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.87 sqmi of which 12.98 sqmi is land and 0.89 sqmi (6.4%) is water.

As a suburb of Denver, Littleton is part of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. It shares a border with Denver and Englewood on the north, Greenwood Village on the northeast, Centennial on the east, Highlands Ranch on the south, Columbine and Columbine Valley on the west, and Bow Mar on the northwest.

Unlike most county seats of suburban counties, Littleton is on the same house numbering grid, including its downtown, as the major city, in this case, Denver.

Climate

|Jan record high F = 78 |Feb record high F = 76 |Mar record high F = 86 |Apr record high F = 88 |May record high F = 90 |Jun record high F = 98 |Jul record high F = 99 |Aug record high F = 98 |Sep record high F = 94 |Oct record high F = 88 |Nov record high F = 82 |Dec record high F = 76 |year record high F = 99 |Jan record low F = −20 |Feb record low F = −23 |Mar record low F = −5 |Apr record low F = 6 |May record low F = 21 |Jun record low F = 36 |Jul record low F = 44 |Aug record low F = 42 |Sep record low F = 17 |Oct record low F = 2 |Nov record low F = −2 |Dec record low F = −29 |year record low F = −29

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 45,652 people and 20,300 households residing in the city. The population density was 3,215.5 PD/sqmi. There were 21,476 housing units, of which 1,272 were vacant. In 2023 the racial makeup of the city was 83.1% White, 2.9% Asian, 1.6% African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 7.8% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 12.6% of the population. 10.3% of residents spoke a language other than English at home; 7.0% of the city's population spoke Spanish.

There were 20,300 households, out of which 18.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 20.6% had a male householder with no spouse, and 27.5% had a female householder with no spouse. The average household size was 2.19.

As of 2023 the distribution of the population by age was 18.5% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.

The median income for a household in the city was $96,611, and the median income for a family was $130,080. Males had a median income of $52,674 versus $40,297 for females. The city's per capita income was $126,140. About 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

As of 2023, 68.0% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. The occupational composition of the employed civilian labor force was: 54.2% in management, business, science, and arts; 17.3% in sales and office occupations; 12.6% in service occupations; 9.3% in production, transportation, and material moving; and 6.7% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were: educational services, health care, and social assistance (20.3%); professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (16.0%); and finance and insurance, and real estate and rental leasing (9.5%).

The cost of living in Littleton is average; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the community is 102.7. As of 2023, the median home value in the city was $596,700, the median selected monthly owner cost was $2,320 for housing units with a mortgage and $732 for those without, and the median gross rent was $1,731.

Housing

The city's housing stock is primarily made up of either detached single-family or apartment buildings. In 2025, there was a proposal to permit so-called "missing middle" housing (duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes) in neighborhoods that were exclusively zoned for single-family homes, but six council members voted against it while Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Barr cast the lone vote in favor of the proposal.

Government

As the county seat, Littleton is the administrative center of Arapahoe County. The county government's main Administration Building is located in Littleton, and most county government departments base their operations in the city.

Littleton lies mostly within Colorado's 6th U.S. Congressional District, but changes made to Colorado's congressional districts in 2012 put the extreme southwestern portion of the city into Colorado's 1st congressional district. For the purposes of representation in the Colorado General Assembly, the city is located in the 26th and 30th districts of the Colorado Senate and the 3rd, 38th, and 43rd districts of the Colorado House of Representatives.

Elected officials

The council consists of seven members - one member for each of the four legislative districts, two at-large members, and the mayor. Beginning in 2021, all council members are elected to 4-year terms. General elections for city council are held in odd-numbered years with either three or four council seats up for election. In 2021, Littleton voters elected the first popularly-elected mayor to a four-year term.

ZIP codes

The place name "Littleton" was assigned to eleven ZIP codes which cover a vast area west, east, and south of the city much larger than the city itself. This area includes the following unincorporated communities:

• Acres Green
• Carriage Club (since incorporated as a neighborhood of Lone Tree)
• Columbine
• Heritage Hills
• Highlands Ranch ("Highlands Ranch" is also acceptable in place of "Littleton" in mailing addresses)
• Ken Caryl
• Roxborough Park

In addition, an extreme southwest portion of Denver, the Marston neighborhood, is located in a ZIP code (80123) with "Littleton" as the preferred place name for use in mailing addresses, though "Denver" is also acceptable. The Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood, also located in this ZIP code, is neither in Littleton nor Englewood, but in unincorporated Jefferson County.

Education

Primary and secondary education

The majority of the portion in Arapahoe County is in Littleton Public Schools. Small portions are in the Sheridan School District 2 and Englewood School District 1.

The Littleton school district operates two high schools in the city limits:

• Heritage High School
• Littleton High School

The small portion of Littleton in Jefferson County is within Jeffco Public Schools. The small portion of Littleton in Douglas County is within Douglas County School District RE-1.

Colleges and universities

• Arapahoe Community College
• Denver Seminary

The Colorado Center for the Blind, a skills training program for blind teenagers and adults operated by the National Federation of the Blind, is located in Littleton.

Transportation

Highways

Four highways run through the city of Littleton:

• [[File:US 85.svg|25px]] US 85 (South Santa Fe Drive) is the longest highway within the municipality. It runs from the city's northern border with Englewood to the city's southern border with Highlands Ranch.
• [[File:Colorado 75.svg|25px]] State Highway 75 (South Platte Canyon Road) begins in Littleton at an intersection with West Bowles Avenue before continuing south into Columbine Valley. Later on it runs along the western border of Littleton with Columbine.
• [[File:Colorado 88.svg|25px]] State Highway 88 (East Belleview Avenue) runs near the northern edge of the city. The highway both enters and exits Littleton through Englewood.
• [[File:Colorado 470.svg|25px]] State Highway 470 runs along the southern edge of the city. It enters east from Highlands Ranch before going west to Columbine.

Mass transit

The Regional Transportation District provides bus and light rail service to Littleton. Light rail service to the city began on July 14, 2000, on the C and D Lines, however C Line operation ended on January 10, 2021. There are two light rail stations within the city, Littleton-Downtown station located within downtown Littleton and Littleton-Mineral station located near the Aspen Grove shopping center, which serves as the southern terminus of the D Line.

Culture

Arts and music

• Town Hall Arts Center
• The Depot Art Gallery and Littleton Fine Arts Guild
• Littleton Symphony Orchestra
• Voices West (fka Littleton Chorale)
• Littleton Museum
• SpaceX Falcon 9 booster

Events

Western Welcome Week

Since the late 1920s, Littleton has celebrated Western Welcome Week - an annual community celebration in the greater Littleton area. Western Welcome Week started in the late 1920s, and has been held every year since. Western Welcome Week includes over 40 events benefiting dozens of local civic and charitable organizations.

Candlelight Walk

The Candlelight Walk is a Littleton tradition, featuring an evening of holiday festivities, culminating in the illumination of the trees on Main Street.

Twilight Criterium

The Littleton Twilight Criterium occurs in the late summer in Historic Downtown Littleton on a 0.8-mile course. The event features famous athletes, concerts, and a cruiser ride for the general public.

Healthcare

The only hospital is AdventHealth Littleton.

Points of interest

• Hudson Gardens
• Town Hall Arts Center, providing professional theater to the surrounding metro area.
• The Littleton Museum
• Gravesite of Alferd Packer

Sister cities

Main article: List of sister cities in Colorado

• Australia Bega, New South Wales, Australia

References

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