The San Luis Valley Museum

Join Us In Reliving The Past Of This Fabulous Valley

306 Hunt Avenue
PO Box 1593
Alamosa, CO 81101
(719) 587-0667
Margaret Finnerty
10-4pm Daily
June 1st - October 1st
Or By Special Appointment
Free Admission
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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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Click on any image for a larger view and more information

Butcher Day on the Crow Ranch Butcher Day on
The Crow Ranch

Circa 1920s
Turn-of-the-Century
Post Office
Post Office in Fictitious Wayside, Colorado
The Old Mosca Mill Mosca Mill

Built in 1892
First Steamboat on
The Rio Grande River
First Steamboat on the Rio Grande River
Tent City on Front Street in Alamosa, Colorado Tent City in Alamosa

Circa 1875
Exhibit of Cowboy Gear Cowboy Exhibit 
Items from the Early Days of Railroading Items Used in the
Early Days
of Railroading
Exhibit of Early
Dutch Settlers
Dutch Exhibit 
Hispanic Exhibit Exhibit of
Hispanic Settlers
The Story of
Indians in the
San Luis Valley
 Indian Exhibit
Mormon Exhibit Exhibit of Early
Mormon Settlers
Exhibit of the Influence
of Japanese Settlers
in the Early 1900s
Japanese Exhibit
Engine 169 from the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad ENGINE 169

Finally Resting
Outside The Museum
ARROWHEADS
AND STONE TOOLS

Impressive Collection
On Display
In the Museum
Arrowhead and Stone Tools
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