Colorado's MuseumTrail.org

06/01/2023

06/01/2023

This Sunday, June 4 at 10:30am, the Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center welcomes Shawn Price and the Dineh Tah' Navajo Dancers for a special program acknowledging the 155th anniversary of the Navajo Treaty.

Schedule of Activities
10:30am Tree Planting Ceremony
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Presentation and reflections on the 155th Anniversary of the Navajo Treaty
2:00pm Traditional dances by the Dineh Tah’ Navajo Dancers

Navajo Treaty 155th Anniversary Program
Photo courtesy of Patrick Myers

02/15/2023

Libby talks about her long life in Chama, CO. She speaks about the depression, language, the Penitentes, Mis Crismas, entertainment and the importance of co...

02/15/2023

The Sanford History Museum’s fundraiser cookbook will be available next week! It contains nearly a hundred pages of mouth-watering recipes. A big thank you to everyone who contributed recipes!

There are two ways to get Cookbook(s):
LOCAL ORDERS: Call and leave a message for one of these Board members to arrange to pick up your book(s) and pay by cash or by check to Sanford History Museum, $20 per copy.
Kimberly - 719-298-6122
Glen - 719-496-6204
Lynette - 719-588-6410

MAIL ORDERS: Call Linda at 719-937-3143 after 5:30 pm on weekdays or any time on the weekend to place your order. You can make a payment by phone, online, or by mailing in a check. Your cookbook(s) will be mailed to you as soon as your check is received. $23 per copy includes shipping.

12/21/2022

Congratulations to Esteban Salazar
https://alamosanews.com/article/esteban-salazar-one-of-two-valley-residents-to-receive-2022-boettcher-fellowship

In July of 1863, President Lincoln declared the fourth Thursday of November as a National Day of Thanks. While that tradition has evolved into a day where families – with the means to do so - gather for a day of feasting and fellowship, gratitude for and recognition of those who strive to better t...

11/12/2022

11/06/2022

Join us on Saturday & Sunday, October 22-23 for Local Appreciation Weekend!

Residents of the San Luis Valley & Huerfano county will enjoy FREE admission and 10% off Gift Shop purchases all weekend long!

This is the final weekend to view award-winning artist Gregg Deal's exhibit 'Merciless Indian Savages'. Also on display is 'Cruzando los Traques' about the 1914 Maestas school desegregation case, the Dia de los Mu***os Community Ofrenda, and more!

Museum hours are 9am-5pm.

10/21/2022

SdCNHA’s Scary Stories, Folklores, and Legends, no. 7

-A Horse Named Snippy-

One of the biggest unsolved mysteries to ever take place in the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area is a true story that happened in Alamosa on September 7, 1967. On that day a three-year-old Appaloosa named Snippy did not return home to the fence behind a ranch owner, Harry King’s home for her usual water and treat. Two days later Mr. King went out looking for the horse, he sadly ended up finding her remains around a quarter mile away from the ranch house. What he saw next was bone chilling and unexplainable. According to Mr. King, Snippy’s neck and head had been completely stripped of their flesh, leaving nothing but bare bone visible. However, the rest of Snippy’s body had remained unscathed. No blood was found around the body, and the flesh had been removed with extreme precision. Around one hundred yards away from the body there were a series of six small, round indentions in the ground that had flattened shrubbery. There were other strange reports surrounding the body, such as reports of a “sickly-sweet smell” around the body, and the exposed bones appearing bright pink to one person. With these strange reports and the incident itself being unexplainable at the time, including rumors of unexplained lights in the sky of the area during that time, amateur mystery solvers began to attribute Snippy’s death to aliens. Such an event shocked the agricultural communities of the Valley, and many newspaper articles were published around this time period with different reports of what may have happened to Snippy. While today, we cannot be sure what happened to Snippy, UFO believers and enthusiasts alike are drawn to this local story that no one can seem to explain.

For more information visit: https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/ufos-and-horse-called-snippy

10/08/2022

SdCNHA’s Spooky Stories, Folklores, and Legends, no. 1

-The Story of La Llorona-

The story of La Llorona is one that has been told for generations in many Hispanic households, and very often from older generations to younger children so that they do not wander outdoors after dark or stay awake after lights out. The story is thought to have originated in New Spain during the sixteenth century, eventually being told into the Mexican period, and later the American period by generations of family story tellers. While the story has had many variations throughout centuries of southwestern and Mexican history, one version is as follows:

La Llorona, or “the weeping woman,” is a story about a woman named Maria, whose startling beauty captivated the residents of her humble Mexican village. Even though being born into a peasant family, her beauty attracted the admiration of both men rich and poor. In time, Maria captured the heart of a wealthy gentleman, and the two were wed and later welcomed two children. The family was happy for many years until the gentleman began to lose interest in his stunning bride, leaving her to raise their two young ones alone. One evening, Maria and her children were walking along the road which ran alongside the river when suddenly a carriage passed by the three. Maria caught sight of her husband, flanked on both sides by attractive young women. In a fit of jealous rage she grabbed both of her children, flung them into the river, and proceeded to drown them in the bleak, dark water. Upon her emotions subsiding, Maria came to terms with what she had done and succumbed to her grief, weeping and sobbing, her cries heard throughout the dark night. She would go on to spend the rest of her days wailing along the river’s edge in search of her two innocent children.

This story seems to be the one that sticks most with young Hispanic children, being that many adults tell it to them so that they will not go outside at night, stay away from the windows after dark, and do not stay up past their bedtimes, for if they do, La Llorona one night may mistake them for her own children, and take them away with her into the dark.

Art by Diana Bryer

10/07/2022

09/28/2022

08/01/2022

https://delnorteprospector.com/article/covered-wagon-days-to-celebrate-the-golden-years

DEL NORTE — For the past 50 years, Del Norte has paid homage to its historical heritage during August with celebrations honoring days from the past. The first-ever Covered Wagon Days event took place in 1972 when the town decided to host a bicentennial festival that eventually turned into the cele...

07/22/2022

The Valley's soil was exceedingly rich but totally worthless without water. This wide irrigation canal is being dug across the north end of what was then Costilla County.

Information from: "Colorado's San Luis Valley, a Pictorial History" Leland Feitz

07/22/2022