Monday, August 15, 2011

A Little History

_MG_9143.jpgWe met up with some home school friends to learn a little history. This is an old schoolhouse in Golden at the Clear Creek History Park.
_MG_9107.jpgThe children got see what it was like to be in a one room schoolhouse in 1876. They read aloud out of McGuffey readers.
_MG_9110.jpgThen they were given slates with chalk to answer the teacher's questions.
_MG_9098.jpgAfter their reading lesson they had a short recess.
_MG_9103.jpgThey got to try out some recreation equipment that children used to play with in the 1800s.
_MG_9151.jpgAfter school was finished we toured a homestead. The first stop was a chicken coop.
_MG_9112.jpgThere were several different varieties of chickens that the children learned about. The black and white speckled chickens were just stunning. They're named Dominiques and are one of the oldest American breeds.
_MG_9145.jpgAfter learning about chickens we headed to a cabin built in the late 1800s. 
_MG_9123.jpgThe first family to live in the cabin was the Helps family. Unfortuanately Mr. Helps was working in a nearby gold mine and drilled into an unexploded gold mine. Later the Pearce family had this cabin moved to their growing homestead.
_MG_9114.jpgThe cabins have been kept up to look very much the way it did back in the late 1800s. This particular cabin was home to family of 8. The children slept upstairs while the parents stayed downstairs where Elizabeth is sitting. They did not have indoor plumbing, so that bowl underneath the bed was used in the middle of the night when a tirp to the outhouse was out of the question.
_MG_9117.jpgOur guide even showed the children how one would go about spinning wool.
_MG_9122.jpgI would love to get my hands on that cast iron cookware.
_MG_9118.jpgThe cabin was heated with this tiny little wood stove in the winter.
_MG_9124.jpgAnna's hoping that they're going to serve a meal soon.
_MG_9125.jpgAfter our cabin tour the children were taught how to pan for gold. While they enjoyed this they came up empty. Rats!
_MG_9132.jpgI think some quartz was found, but that was as close as they got.
_MG_9140.jpgWe then headed over to the ritzy Astor House. Back in the day it was quite a fancy boarding house.
_MG_9137.jpgFor entertainment guests could look at 3D photo cards.
_MG_9138.jpgThe Astor house was one of the first places with running water. They had to pump it in.
_MG_9139.jpg
_MG_9141.jpgOne of the rooms had a nice balcony where guest were given sun umbrellas on hot days.
_MG_9142.jpgHere's the view from the balcony.
Well, I guess you just got a small tour on the history of Golden, Colorado. No need to go and see for yourselves, right? Acutually we really enjoyed the history park. The kids had a lot of fun and want to go back again. It's a beautiful area right along Clear Creek. Check it out if you're in the area.

4 comments:

Adriane said...

Where was this when I was homeschooled?! Awesome!

Melissa said...

I (semi) fondly recall McGuffy Readers! :) What a wonderful day!

Heather said...

This looks like so much fun! I'm adding it to our to-do list. Have you taken the kids to the Littleton History Museum? It's got some similar features, maybe slightly less hands on, but it's free which is awesome.

I didn't even know this place existed and here I've been down the highway my whole life. :)

Unknown said...

I've heard about Littleton's museum. It's on my list of places to visit. Can't wait!