A 90-minute guided tour of the historic Morse Coffin family home will be held at 10:30 a.m. on March 22 at the Sandstone Ranch Visitors and Learning Center. The tour will teach visitors of all ages about the Coffin family and what life was like in the 19th century for homesteaders in Longmont. Preregistration is required online or by calling 303-774-4700. Registration is free, but a donation of $4 is suggested.
Morse H. Coffin moved to Colorado in 1859 to work in the mining industry. Afterwards, he turned his interest to agriculture. He and his brother Rueben F. established Sandstone Ranch, which supported the family and continues to serve Longmont today.
Through the years, the Coffin name has been a part of many social and civic affairs in the region. Brother George was at one time the treasurer of Weld County, a Longmont City Councilman, and mayor. Morse H. was a co-founder of the first public school district in Colorado. He contributed to the agriculture economy of the region through his writings (including contributions to writings about the Sand Creek Massacre). The ranch and the Coffin house was sold in 1981 to the Bigelows, who then sold the land and home to the City of Longmont for use as a community park in the 1990s.
Read more about the "haunted history" of Longmont’s Sandstone Ranch and the Coffin Family here.
