Niwot is a charming but unincorporated little “village” platted in 1875 and located on the plains between Boulder and Longmont. Some of Boulder County’s most prestigious custom communities call Niwot home. ~ The word “Niwot” means “left hand” in the Arapahoe Indian language. Chief Niwot and his friendly tribe inhabited the Left Hand Valley when the white settlers arrived. The tribe’s encampment was west of the present village, near Haystack Mountain – a perfect place to keep a lookout for buffalo and game roaming the Gunbarrel area. The tribe left the area after the Sand Creek Massacre, but the tepee groundings they left behind can still be seen. The present village began with a post office named “Modoc” by the new Loveland railroad’s stationmaster Will Wilson, after “an ornery bunch of Indians out in California”. ~ Niwot’s old fashioned charm has been carefully preserved - Downtown Niwot has been designated as an historical landmark, and the old Left Hand Grange Hall houses the second oldest (est. 1873) continuously operating grange in Colorado.