Denver students blast to Old West past at Four Mile Historic Park

CBS News

14-05-2025

Just four miles from downtown, Denver's oldest standing structure sits on a piece of preserved history at Four Mile Historic Park.
The park immerses visitors in the past, offering guided tours of the Four Mile House Museum, field trips, and outreach programs.
One hundred fifty years ago, children in Denver learned to churn butter, weave, and care for farm animals. Today's students can step back into that lifestyle through the park's programs.
"We are learning about what people did in the past," said fourth grader Madeleine Capka.
When Four Mile Education Coordinator Anne Butler rings the bell, it's time for some good old-fashioned chores.
"We're giving kids a taste of what life was like back in the 1800s," Butler said. "It wasn't all like video games and Minecraft and TV... you had to work."
Four Mile Education Coordinator Anne Butler, left, teaches children at the Four Mile Historic Park about Old West chores and lifestyles at the Denver park.
CBS
Students grind coffee and churn butter, a chore that comes with a treat.
"So we were shaking a glass of whipping cream, and it was so hard because we had to do it for a very long time, and then we put it on crackers and it was very delicious," Capka said.
"She spread it on some crackers, and it was really good. It was like whipped cream and shake it up," said Crestview fourth grader Jett Elkshoulder. "It tasted really good. It tasted like three times as sweet."
Butler has worked at Four Mile for more than a decade and enjoys stepping into the past. She and other educators wear bonnets and dresses contemporary to the mid-to-late 1800s.
"I had a little obsession with Laura Ingalls Wilder," Butler said. "It's fun. I get to dress like this, this is my work uniform."
Children are also introduced to farm animals and taught to weave, pan for gold, and push wagons.
"They used wagons and they had to lift the wagons up, and sometimes they had to chop the wagons in half because things would break down or things would crack," Capka said.
When homestead work is done, there's still time for music and games. Swallow Hill provides a musician who plays instruments that homesteaders would have had.
"We were also doing like bowling, like with beanbags and pins, and I realized that was a rare treat. You could only do that certain times, and you were usually like working," Capka said.
Four Mile also teaches children about the Indigenous traditions that predate the historic farm, through indigenous dancing and a speaker.
"I am actually Cheyenne, Ute, and Navajo," said Elkshoulder. "I think it's pretty cool to like show that stuff."
Children return to the 21st century a little tired, but with a new appreciation for life in the Old West.
"It was really fun and I'm glad I got to learn about this stuff," Capka said.
Through the Wagon Wheel Field Trip program, Four Mile will host 3,400 children in just six weeks.
On May 23 and 24, Four Mile will host "Family Fun Free Days," a free event celebrating Native American heritage. On June 7, the park will hold its annual Rendezvous Gala, emceed by CBS Colorado's Olivia Young.