The San Luis Valley Museum

Telling The Story Of The People Who Explored And Settled The San Luis Valley Indians Hispanics Military Japanese Railroaders Cowboys Miners Farmers

The Museum building served for many years as the Alamosa City Jail

The San Luis Valley is one of the largest high desert valleys in the world, lying at an altitude of over 7,000 feet.  It is approximately 125 miles long and over 65 miles wide.  Surrounded by the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains to the east and the San Juan mountains to the west, the valley is the size of Connecticut and is larger than some states and countries.

The Museum has educational displays featuring artifacts, photographs, antiques and collectibles portraying early ranch and farm life.  It features exhibits of Indian artifacts, Hispanic settlers, the Japanese-American community, Adams State College, Military regalia and early railroading.

Museum displays show what an early mercantile or general store was like, along with a model US Post Office of years past, adjacent to a typical country grade school classroom designed around a fictitious valley town called Wayside, Colorado.

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	Butcher Day on The Crow Ranch Circa 1920s
Turn-of-the-Century Post Office
	Mosca Mill Built in 1892
First Steamboat on The Rio Grande River
	Tent City in Alamosa Circa 1875
Exhibit of Cowboy Gear
	Items Used in the Early Days of Railroading
Exhibit of Early Dutch Settlers
	Exhibit of Hispanic Settlers
The Story of Indians in the San Luis Valley
	Exhibit of Early Mormon Settlers
Exhibit of the Influence of Japanese Settlers in the Early 1900s
	ENGINE 169 Finally Resting Outside The Museum
ARROWHEADS AND STONE TOOLS Impressive Collection On Display In the Museum