About Littleton

The City of Littleton is a Home Rule Municipality in Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, and Douglas County in the U.S. state of Colorado. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and the 17th most populous city in the State of Colorado. The population was 40,340 at the 2000 census.

Littleton became widely known in 1999 when the Columbine High School tragedy occurred at nearby Columbine High School, which some in the news media reported as being located in the city. The school is actually in unincorporated Jefferson County, yet in a ZIP code associated primarily with Littleton. The school is one of the schools of the Jefferson County school system and not one of the Littleton Public Schools.

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. The Denver Theological Seminary is also in Littleton. Intelligent Vehicle Safety Technologies’ “Desert Tortoise,” a competitor in the DARPA Grand Challenge, is based in Littleton.

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,340 people, 17,313 households, and 10,387 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,984.8 people per square mile. There were 18,084 housing units at an average density of 1,338.0/sq mi. The racial makeup of the city was 91.77% White, 1.16% African American, 0.73% Native American, 1.66% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.67% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.45% of the population.

There were 17,313 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,583, and the median income for a family was $64,671. The per capita income for the city was $28,681. About 3.9% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Littleton’s History

The beginnings of Littleton can be traced to the “Pikes Peak” gold rush of 1859. Along with the gold-seekers came merchants and farmers to provide the necessities of life. As the fledgling metropolis of Denver City began to grow, the need arose to construct a series of ditches to carry water to farms and businesses without ready access to rivers and creeks in this arid land. Among the engineers hired to lay out this system was young Richard Sullivan Little of New Hampshire.

Surveying in an area several miles south of Denver, Little fell in love with the site of present-day Littleton. Upon filing a home stake and other land claims, Richard brought his wife Angeline from the East in 1862, the dry climate all but curing her asthmatic condition, and began to farm. The Littles joined with several neighbors to build the Rough and Ready Flour Mill in 1867, providing a solid economic base in the community for years to come.

In 1872, the Littles filed a plat to subdivide much of their property into the village of Littleton. When the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached the area in 1871, settlement began at a rapid pace. By the time of Colorado’s statehood in 1876, there were schools, churches, a hotel, stores and many of the other trappings of civilization. In 1890, the 245 residents voted to incorporate the Town of Littleton.

A milestone in the history of Littleton came in 1902 when the old Arapahoe County (dating from pre-Colorado Territory days) was divided into Arapahoe, Denver, Adams, Washington and Yuma Counties. Then-Governor Orman named Littleton the temporary county seat, placing it in a favorable position to defeat rival Englewood in the general election in 1904. Gaining the permanent county seat brought not only government employees and businesses, but all of their support services. Littleton’s place among Colorado’s cities was assured.

Agriculture remained the staple industry of Littleton until after World War II. Beginning with electronics and pneumatics, moving to munitions and finally to aerospace, manufacturing became the important employer and a magnet for the boom in housing development during the fifties, sixties and seventies. Littleton added Arapahoe Community College in 1965 and Chatfield Reservoir in 1972 to further enhance its appeal. When Littleton celebrated its centennial in 1990, its population had grown to 33,661.

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