By Jean Taylor
Special to The PREVIEW
Retired high school geology teacher John Taylor will be giving a special program on the history of rocks at the Pagosa Springs History Museum on June 30. The program will begin at 2 p.m.
Taylor has been a rancher in the area since 1957 and is a wealth of knowledge. Everyone, including former students, is invited to attend.
There is no charge for this special program, but, as always, donations are gratefully accepted to help defray operating costs of the museum. Snacks will be available for purchase.
The museum
Pagosa Springs’ history museum is located at the old town waterworks site at the corner of U.S. 160 and 1st Street.
The rock building, which houses a portion of the museum, was constructed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration. It was built to cover the water wheel that pushed the water through the town’s system. The large, open-topped tanks behind the museum once served as settlement and holding tanks for the town’s water supply.
Exhibits
Thousands of items of local history are on display in the museum. Visitors might especially enjoy the general store exhibit, the farming and ranching display or one of the many other displays.
Those attending the geology program might find the rock and mineral collection particularly interesting.
Also on display this summer are quilts from the permanent collection of the society. These quilts date from 1840 to 1960. They are representative of the quilts that were brought to Pagosa Springs by the first settlers and those that were made as our community settled and grew. There are also several friendship quilts and some crazy quilts that date from 1890 to 1900.
The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at 96 Pagosa St.
