The Museum is open to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10am until 4pm and on Wednesdays and Fridays from 1pm until 4pm.

September in Durango is History Live! month, offered by the Southwest Colorado Humanities Roundtable, of which the Animas Museum is proud to be a member.  There are many fascinating programs available this month.  View the complete list on their website.  We encourage you to take advantage of as many programs as you can.

Here are some of the programs we are involved with:

Ed Horvat will be reprising his talk about his new book published by Arcadia "Images of America: La Plata County" on Thursday, September 12th at 6p.m.

Location: Maria's Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.

Presented by Maria's Bookshop.

Copies are available for sale at the Museum.

Local historian Charles DiFerdinando will fill in the early history of the original Fort Lewis, a United States Military Post in Southwest Colorado which had more than one location and long before it passed on its historic name to Fort Lewis College. Among other topics, DiFerdinando will discuss the creation of the Post, the colorful saga of the Buffalo Soldiers, and the move to the La Plata River.

Thursday, Thursday, September 19, 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Location: 130 Noble Hall, Fort Lewis College

Presented by Fort Lewis College Life Long Learning

BACK TO SCHOOL!

We'll be celebrating 120 years of the Animas City School with a reunion for former students, an open house for educators, and various programs and crafts for kids of all ages.

Experience the 1905 classroom at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Photos on the front steps at 11 a.m.

Saturday, September 21, open house from 10 - 4 p.m.

Location: The Animas Museum, 3065 W. 2nd Ave.

Learn more and RSVP for the reunion here.

At 1 p.m., join us for a webinar on the history of the Animas City School. View it in person in the classroom or join us on Zoom. There is no charge for the webinar which will be recorded. Register here.

Save the Date! More information on these programs will be forthcoming!

Dr. Andrew Gulliford will be speaking at the Museum on Saturday, October 12th at 10:30 a.m. about his book "The Woolly West". This will be an in-person event only. Copies will be available for sale at the Museum that day.

In the afternoon, the Second Saturday Seminar will be at 1 p.m. online and streaming in the classroom. Pam Dyer, LPCHS Board member will be talking about the history and future of sheep in La Plata County.

Get ready for Halloween and learn what lies beneath Colorado's pioneer cemeteries! Join local author Eilene Lyon for an in-person booksigning on Saturday, October 26th at 1 p.m. at the Museum.

Oral Histories and Documentaries

It's live, Buffalo Soldiers: Return to Animas City The Video! If you missed the event or want to hear the story of the Buffalo Soldiers again, you can watch it now on our Youtube channel here.

We are absolutely thrilled to release this oral history "I Lived in the Rico Depot" presented by life-long Colorado resident, Joanne Branson Smith. Joanne's earliest memories of childhood are of her adventures in and around the Denver Rio Grande Southern (RGS) railroad depot in Rico, CO. Joanne gave this talk at the Museum in November, 2022 and volunteer Larry Bollinger has done an amazing job to preserve her memories. You can watch it on our Youtube channel here.

Learn about the Great Fire of 1889

Download a device friendly copy of the walking tour here or a printable version of the pdf here.