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Museum
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History of Rocky Ford Historical Museum In July 1940, an Explorers League was formed, largely through the effort of Ruth Lytle and Howard Robb. The purpose was to encourage ordinary men and women to be on the lookout for specimens and artifacts which the average person is likely to ignore, but would be of great interest to science. There were 14 charter members.
In January 1941, the League dissolved and reorganized as a branch of the Colorado Archeological Society. One of the first goals of the Archeological society was to have a museum to exhibit collections of arrowheads and items of historical interest. Determination and hard work by a few people resulted in Rocky Ford's first museum. Howard Reynolds donated the building. Members of the Society painted, cleaned, and furnished curtains. Artifacts were cataloged and set up in displays. The building was located one-half block off of Main Street and Walnut Street, in the 900 block, where McLain's Grocery Store is now located.
The first museum opened on June 10, 1941. In 1944, the museum was enlarged by removing a partition to make room for more display cases. In 1950, after a robbery at the Walnut location, the Society persuaded the City of Rocky Ford to allow the museum to be located in the basement of the city's library (Carnegie Building). William Gobin was mayor at the time and the city gave $442.30 toward maintenance and moving expenses. On May 15, 1950, Miss Clara Wheeler was hired to keep the museum open two afternoons per week at a wage of $.60 per hour. In May 1964, the City of Rocky Ford repaired and redecorated the basement.
In 1966, the library wanted to expand, and they asked the museum to find other quarters. At the same time, there was some talk of building a city complex with very little emphasis on a place for the museum. The basement area of the library was never quite adequate for the museum displays. In 1966, the Archeological Society began actively seeking new quarters. The Museum was started, and individuals and organizations donated to the fund to help finance a museum building. Belle Swink Daring and Mattie Swink Lamon donated Swink family relics. On October 15, 1968, the City of Rocky Ford received the deed from Humble Oil Company for the vacant Enco Station on 14th Street between Elm and Swink Avenues. Through the efforts of Howard Reynolds, the building plus one-half block of land was given to the city for the museum. City and Archaeological Society members were to work together to create a new museum building. In 1970, the city cons
idered combining the library, city hall, and the museum into one
building. In February 1971, the city announced that a new
city hall and a new library would be built. It was suggested that
the present library could be used to house the museum. In August 1971,
a Mrs. Geiser wanted to buy the Enco
In January 1976, the library moved to its new building on the corner of Library Park. Work began to redecorate the old Carnegie building, and the members of the Archaeology Society worked diligently with thecity to set up the displays. At last there was room for the main artifacts but no room for the larger items. The museum was closed for a time during this period for the redecoration and the setting up of the displays. The library had been replaced by the Rocky Ford Museum which was filled with the memorabilia of early Rocky Ford.
The Museum now had a building, but still needed more display area for the larger items that had been donated over the years. The Archaeology Society discussed a building that could be erected with limited funds in their treasury, and in 1986 plans were drawn up through the efforts of Bill Skuderna,
the board president at that time, and Jesse Osborn. Plans were presented to city council. Plans were adjusted to meet city ordinances and, as always, money was a big factor. Funds were limited so the size of the building was reduced. When the fact became known through an article in the Rocky Ford Daily Gazette, Howard and Betty Windsor and Judge Goblin donated money to the museum fund and the dimensions were restored to the original blueprint. The building on the south side of the Museum as named "The Carriage House", and was dedicated in September 1989. Many people worked long and hard to make this dream come true.
During the summer months the Museum board has developed a lecture series. Guest speakers are invited to lecture on the 2nd Thursday of each month (June-August). The public is invited to attend, and refreshments are served. The Museum is also attempting to get more kids interested in their heritage. Kids are very welcome at our Museum. In addition, letters have been sent to all area teachers and administrators inviting them to call and set up guided tours for their students and their sponsors.
Another recent program is the Adopt-A-Case Program. People who are interested in the Museum can adopt a case. They are responsible for caring for the case, taking inventory for that case, cleaning, the case, and checking to make sure that all of the artifacts are present. Photographs of the artifacts that are in the case are taken, and a written inventory is also in the folder for that case. This program is really generating some interest in the Museum.
In conclusion, come in and visit one of the finest local museums in the State of Colorado.
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property from the city in order to
building a new motel (now the High Chaparral Inn). The city agreed
to provide the Carnegie building for a museum, if the museum became part
of the city government. In November 1971, the Archaeological
Society agreed to the sale of the Enco property for the sum of $20,000,
with the money to be used for the museum purposes. The Museum
became a city museum and the Museum Board Members were appointed by the
City Council.
