Sand Creek Massacre site visit rescheduled

A trip to the site of the Sand Creek Massacre site in southeastern Colorado is back on track – 17 months after the pandemic caused the original trip to be postponed.

The trip, which was originally set for April 25, 2020, has now been rescheduled for Saturday, Sept. 25, with the bus leaving from Niwot Market at 8 a.m. The all-day excursion, organized by the Niwot United Methodist Church as part of its 150-year anniversary celebration, will take participants on a four-hour bus ride to the National Historical Site of the Sand Creek Massacre.

The Sand Creek Massacre site is where Chief Niwot is believed to have been mortally wounded on Nov. 29, 1864 when a peaceful encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho was attacked by Col. John Chivington on the banks of Sand Creek. The community of Niwot was named after the Arapaho chief, and he was well-known to early white settlers in the area.

Porter Hinman, who platted the townsite of Niwot in 1875 with Ambrose Murray, was a friend of Chief Niwot. According to a social media comment from one of his great grandsons, Hinman never forgave his two sons who rode with Col. Chivington and participated in the massacre.

The excursion is sponsored by Cottonwood Square, the Niwot Historical Society, the Niwot Community Association, and the Rotary Club of Niwot, in addition to the church. A limited number of seats remain as several persons who had signed up for the first trip are unable to attend. The cost of the trip is $30 per person.

Anyone wishing to register should contact Biff Warren at [email protected].