Carmichael Connection Newsletter

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April - June 2023


Platte Valley House

The photograph on the right is the old Platte Valley House, also known as the Brighton Hotel. The Hotel was built at the corner of Bush and 2nd Street, now Cabbage Avenue. The Platte Valley House was also the final destination for the Sandpaper Track, a popular racing route for bicyclists that started all the way in Denver!

In the late 1800s, cycling was a very popular sport and Colorado had several bicycle clubs with memberships of more than 1,000 cyclists. The course followed what is now known as Old Brighton Road. Racers who finished among the first half of the field were awarded prizes like a free dinner or free stay at the Brighton Hotel.

Platte Valley House/Sandpaper Track Bike Race

PV_House

Volunteer at the Museum! 

The Brighton City Museum is always looking for volunteer help! From helping visitors, to research, and even collection project-based duties, you will find our volunteers wear many hats! For more information about volunteering with the Brighton City Museum, call Bill Armstrong, Museum Specialist, at: 303-655-2288. Join our dynamic team, working with the past! 

Searching for the Past...

Brighton City Museum is always considering donations for the collection of objects, photographs, and printed materials. We are looking for items that tell the full story of Brighton and the citizens that have over time made our story unique. Currently, we are seeking to add to our Japanese American, and Hispanic- American collections. Do you have something unique you would like to have considered as part of the museum's collection? Please contact Museum Specialist, Bill Armstrong at 303-655-2288 or warmstrong@brightonco.gov

Our Mission

The Brighton City Museum’s mission is to be the center where all visitors can connect to the unique past, present, and future of Brighton as told through our collections.

Our Vision

Our vision is to preserve, interpret, and make accessible the heritage of Brighton for the benefit of the public and history itself.

Did You Know?

Tucked into the heart of downtown is a Brighton historical treasure - the Brighton Train Depot. Now the new home to the Greater Brighton Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau, the depot dates back more than 114 years.

Depot

Exhibits

Current Exhibit
A picture containing food Description automatically generatedThe “Curator’s Corner” has been created to highlight some of the most noteworthy artifacts held by the Brighton City Museum. The objects in this display have been selected by the museum staff to focus upon a few of our most interesting and inspiring items from Brighton’s history.

This exhibit allows you to step back in time and examine some of the equipment used by the historic citizens of Brighton. We hope you will leave with an understanding of how these objects were used, and a sense of what life was like during our earliest days.

Have you seen it?
The oldest artifact in our collection is currently part of our newest exhibit: "Splendid Valley and Brighton - Story of a Place." The artifact is a quartz arrowhead base from approximately 1050 A.D. It was found at the Bromley-Koizuma/Hishanuma farm, during a recent archaeological survey. 

We encourage you to come and see it for yourself! The museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are always appreciated and go to support the museum and our archives.

Leffingwell Mercantile Company

Archie Scott Leffingwell, commonly known as A.S. (A.S. Leffingwell can be seen along the parapet at the corner section of the building of Bridge and Main), was the founder and president of the Leffingwell Mercantile Company. He was born in Winnebago County, Illinois in 1859 and moved to Colorado in 1893. He also served as Brighton's Mayor from 1901 to 1903.

In 1916, he built what we know today as the Leffingwell Building at the corner of Bridge and Main. The last two photos are of the cash register, or till, donated by James Leffingwell. It is an early 1900s McCaskey Cash Register that once belonged to Archie Scott Leffingwell and was the original register at the business.

The main body of the register is made of wood, in an "L" shape, with two drawers that pull out. The register still has "The McCaskey Register Co.m Alliance Ohio, U.S.A." mark on the back, with gold cursive lettering with black outlines. In the corner of the "L" shape are 12 metal drop down files with 10 spring clips on either side of the files. It is missing the clip that would hold the files up to the backside of the register. The bottom has many little slots to hold a paper with a name for credit, pulls out, and has many of the original creditors' names still remaining.

Leffingwell