Littleton

Richard Little settled here in 1862 and built what’s considered Colorado’s first irrigation ditch, pulling water from the South Platte River to turn dry prairie into farmland. The town was platted in 1872 and incorporated in 1890, and for its first several decades it was exactly what it looked like: an agricultural community serving the farms along the river. That changed in the mid-20th century as light industry and, eventually, aerospace moved in, and Littleton grew into one of the more established, self-contained suburbs south of Denver rather than a newer bedroom community.

The Lockheed Martin campus, and a ZIP code correction

Littleton’s name is closely tied to the Lockheed Martin Space campus, one of the largest aerospace employers in the state, built by the Martin Company starting in 1956. It’s worth knowing that the campus itself, like Southwest Plaza mall, actually sits in unincorporated Jefferson County, not inside Littleton’s city limits. Both share a Littleton mailing address and ZIP code without being governed by the city, which matters if you’re weighing city services, property tax jurisdiction, or which municipality you’d actually be living in.

The parts of Littleton actually inside city limits center on a genuinely well-preserved historic downtown along Main Street, a restored 1901 train depot, and a walkable strip of breweries, restaurants and shops that predates most of the metro’s newer downtown redevelopments. The Mary Carter Greenway trail follows the South Platte River through town, connecting to Chatfield State Park a few miles south, and Hudson Gardens sits along the same stretch of river as a public botanic garden and outdoor concert venue.