Yes, it really does exist–Main Street, Littleton.  Doesn’t that just sound too good to be true?   Littleton is a typical western village that has grown from a handful of homes in the 1800s to a full-blown metropolitan suburb that still gives a nod to its history.

If you look closely, you can see the foothills of the Rockies in this west facing picture of downtown Littleton, Colorado.

In Sliced Vegetarian, Main Street is going to host a fictitious restaurant called Alexio’s Greek Food.  In this cozy spot Daisy is going to bump into Gabe Caerphilly, the Littleton police lieutenant who is her love interest.  Problem is, he blew off her lunch invitation saying he was too busy to eat out. Then he shows up with That Woman, police sergeant Linda Taylor; a crisp, efficient and way-too-pretty-for-Daisy’s-comfort colleague.  What do you think will happen there?

I know that mysteries revolve mostly around murders and the puzzle involved with finding out who dunnit, but Faith On The Rocks and Sliced Vegetarian are also going to play a lot with pets, romance, special needs community and life in Littleton.  Perhaps its my ADD showing, or perhaps its because I believe life is a lot fuller when you don’t cage yourself into a single focus, but I love Littleton, and hope you’ll come to love this town too.

Know where Littleton got its name?

You guessed it.  A man named Richard Little came to the territory in gold rush times, but not to pan for gold. He came for engineering/surveyor work and laid out property lines in the area.

An inaccurate engineer for the Capital Hydraulic Company in Denver had miscalculated the gradient for a ditch the company needed.  Richard showed the error in calculation, which resulted in moving the South Platte River intake from what is now Littleton to further north.  Richard, meanwhile, had taken a keen liking to this area and purchased over 900 acres which encompassed what is now Littleton. He was soon joined by his wife, Angeline, and son Lucius.  Many of the roads were named for friends and first events in the area.

I like that Richard Little was an engineer.  Daisy’s first husband was an engineer too.  Good, pragmatic people these engineers.

Today, Littleton maintains a small town feel, but has upscale, sophisticated shopping and restaurants.  The old town hall houses a small theatre for plays, the original mill (once called the Rough & Ready) is a restaurant, and the property just south of the town center holds our community college.

I hope you’ll enjoy exploring Littleton with Daisy and me in the months ahead.

What’s your favorite small town?  Does it have any good stories?