Community leaders to mark Niwot's sesquicentennial with Sunday open house

An ad hoc committee of community leaders will host an open house anniversary party for Niwot's sesquicentennial on Sunday, March 30 from 12 noon to 3 p.m. at Niwot Hall.

The event will commemorate Niwot's founding as noted by the handwritten date of March 30, 1875, on a town plat recorded with Boulder County 150 years ago.

Activities will include a photo booth, a then-and-now slideshow, and live music by Pete and Joan Wernick, with guest fiddler Justin Hoffenberg.

According to event organizers, local businesses Cruagh Catering, Love Ice Cream, and Niwot Liquor will furnish cupcakes, ice cream, and bubbles for the milestone occasion.

To further celebrate Niwot's history, the organizers are encouraging community members to wear vintage or period piece attire for the event and to contribute items for a time capsule, which has an unveiling planned for March 30, 2050.

Since early December, the committee, formed by Mary Coonce, a Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) member, and chaired by Laura Skaggs, has been planning and coordinating activities throughout 2025 to celebrate Niwot's 150th year. Other committee members include Angie Miltersen, Phil Yates, Chris Crandell, Kathy Koehler, Pat Murphy, Kristin Alger, Bruce Warren, Deborah Fowler, Laura Gaibler, and Angela Hudgins.

According to Coonce, Koehler, who serves as the president of the Niwot Historical Society, alerted the LID last fall of the town's upcoming sesquicentennial. "Well, we were all agog. We're like, 'what?' We didn't even know it was coming," said Coonce.

In response, Coonce said the LID asked her to form a committee, which led to the eventual recruitment of Skaggs and other leaders from various community groups. Coonce said Skaggs is a key component with her experience on boards for local historical societies and the National Registry.

Gaibler, who has been going through pictures and making pole banners for the town's milestone, said that the upcoming sesquicentennial party will be a rare opportunity to view photos of Niwot's history, especially when many individuals might not be alive in another 25 or 50 years.

"This is one time that we are going to be able to see these pictures and use them and make them public for everybody. Otherwise they have just been in books," said Gaibler.

As Niwot gears up to celebrate its sesquicentennial, the town's history outside of its platted existence is top of mind for committee member Fowler. Fowler credits fellow committee member Phil Yates of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association, is helping to educate the committee about Native American perspectives and acknowledging history leading to the forced removal of Chief Nowoo3 (Niwot / Left Hand) and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes from this area, including the atrocities of the Sand Creek Massacre.

Fowler said while community leaders are trying to promote the town in a positive way, they do not want to forget what has happened in the past. In a lead up to the sesquicentennial, community groups, including the Niwot Cultural Arts Association and the Niwot Historical Society with funding by the Niwot Local Improvement District, have been hosting events and lectures to reflect on the past and how to foster lasting relationships with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes going forward.

Even though Fowler said she feels there should be more education on the Native American experience, she also acknowledges that if it were not for the upcoming sesquicentennial event, the community might not have known the native American history of the area.

When asked what she looks forward to about the upcoming sesquicentennial event, Fowler said, "Just seeing all the community come together, different generations, and different aspects, you know, like the music, and yes, just seeing everyone together. It will be fun." After a pause, Fowler further remarked, "All the village characters," and with a giggle, "in one room."