Littleton is the Arapahoe County seat, and it started with a flour mill

If you spend time around Arapahoe County government, you will hear Littleton’s name often. It is the county seat, the formal home of county government, and many county offices are based there. The town’s story helps explain why a place that began as farmland became a center of government.

Littleton takes its name from Richard Sullivan Little, an engineer from the East who came to help bring water to the growing Denver area. He filed a homestead a few miles south of Denver in the early 1860s and brought his family out to farm. He and his neighbors later built the Rough and Ready Flour Mill, which gave the young community a steady economic base and made it a shipping point once the railroad arrived. The town platted, incorporated, and over time became the county seat.

Why this matters for a newcomer: the county seat is not just trivia. Many county records and services are handled in Littleton. But the county does not run everything from one address. Offices, services, and court business operate at more than one location in the county, so check Arapahoe County’s website for the right building before you head out.

Littleton itself is a city with its own government, so its city rules differ from the county’s. For the founding story and the mill’s history, start with the Littleton Museum. For the county’s offices and seat, check Arapahoe County.