Colorado Gives Day 2020

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Colorado Gives Day 2020, Tuesday, December 8

In 1980, when a local rancher offered a dilapidated, 1898 barn to the fledgling Eagle County Historical Society for use as a museum, it seemed like an impossible idea. But the very determined Historical Society directors, including Frank Doll, Laurene Knupp, Jim Nimon, Rae Benton, Roy Robinson, Ross Bolt, and others worked for a decade to make it happen. In 1990, the museum opened and has been serving the public ever since.

1984 Museum barn move

In 2020, the current ECHS Board realized that some significant improvements to the building were needed in order to keep the building functioning.

Museum barn before re-roofing

With hard work from the Board, and terrific support from the loyal donors, local businesses, and local government, the ECHS re-roofed the aging building with a metal roof, made some small structural repairs, and repainted the barn. It feels like a new building. If the corona virus situation allows, the museum will be open in the spring for the 2021 season.

Museum Docents

Meanwhile, the ECHS continues to fulfill its mission of sharing local history with educational programs, website blogs about early day pioneers, history hikes, cemetery tours, book publication, and a treasure trove of historic photographs and digitized manuscripts offered online via our partnership with the Eagle Valley Library District. We love local history, and we love sharing it with you.

The ECHS is run primarily by volunteers, and is financed through book sales, memberships and donations. The Historical Society is a small-scale non-profit with large-scale dedication to preserving local history. Your support on Colorado Gives Day, Tuesday, Dec. 8, is appreciated.

Donations can be scheduled at any time at https://www.coloradogives.org/.

 

 

 

 

Time Travel

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Time Travel

What happens when a pandemic makes it impossible to open your museum?

The exhibits pack up their bags and go travelling.

The Eagle County Historical Society has developed several new exhibits which are now on display in public spaces throughout the county. If you are out and about, stop by and take in a little local history. Here’s where you’ll find it:

 

Eagle Town Hall – Photo exhibit reveals Brush Creek’s history, including the story of the short-lived Lady Belle silver mine on Horse Mountain.

Brush Creek history exhibit

 

Eagle County Administration Building – Head upstairs to the hallway outside of the commissioner’s meeting room for a look at historic clothing from the pioneering Nottingham family. Myrtle Nottingham had some engineering talent hiding behind those beautiful dresses.

Nottingham display

 

Eagle Public Library – Two stories are told in exhibits on the second floor, in the Local History Department. Learn about the impact of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic in Eagle County. Then take a look at the county’s first ballot box and learn how it put trust into elections.

Pandemic exhibit

 

Ballot box

 

These exhibits were made possible with funding provided by Colorado Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security [CARES] Act economic stabilization plan of 2020.

 

If you have suggestions for future exhibits, please contact us at

[email protected].