The Pagosa Springs History Museum will open for the season on Saturday, May 24.
Getting ready to reopen has been a labor of love and remains a work in progress. Many hands have helped in getting to where the museum is now.
As always, entrance to the museum is at no charge. Donations are gratefully accepted as the museum relies on donations and grants to operate.
On Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m., enjoy self-guided tours. Lemonade and bakery-made cookies will be available. Stickers, notebooks and mugs will be given out. All of these items are courtesy of the Pagosa Springs Area Tourism Board’s event funding program.
You may enjoy the farming and ranching display and then move down to view the many photos and art on loan from the Fred Harman family. Harman was the creator of the long-running Red Ryder comic strips in conjunction with Stephen Slesinger. The characters were also featured in movies, posters, comic books and other merchandise. Harman lived in the area and frequently brought visitors to his ranch. He also promoted the amenities of the Pagosa Springs area in his comic books.
If you are interested in the lives of the Oppenheimer brothers, J. Robert and Frank, you may enjoy seeing the artifact which was donated with the donor indicating that this was the chair that J. Robert used during his time at the Los Alamos laboratory.
Frank Oppenheimer, the younger brother of J. Robert, was a physicist who also worked on the project at the Los Alamos laboratory. He owned a ranch in the Blanco Basin and his brother visited Frank’s family here. Frank taught at the high school here in Pagosa Springs before moving on to California and founding the Exploratorium in San Francisco.
Students of the local legend Worthe Crouse and also art fans may enjoy the display of some of Crouse’s sculptures. These include an eagle perched on a rock with a fish in its talons and also a self-portrait created by Crouse. He was instrumental in bringing the metal building that houses the front portion of the museum to town from another location up Piedra Road (County Road 600). Crouse also was a welder, mechanic, teacher and town council member, among other things.
These artifacts are just a touch of what is housed in the town’s museum, located at 96 Pagosa St.
The museum will be open this season Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
