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.

Visit our YouTube channel and enjoy many of our past webinars. Like and subscribe to our channel here.

Saturday, October 31, 10am - 4pm. Halloween Open House! Come by the museum for spooky treats, crafts, and history. All ages welcome, costumes optional. At 1pm, Charles DiFerdinando will share the story of the Halloween Fire at the Animas City School in 1919.

Saturday, November 7, 1pm at the Durango Public Library Come learn how to use our oral history equipment available for checkout! This event will include opportunities to explore the equipment as well as discussions on oral history best practices in order to help you best collect the stories of our community. Join in person at the Durango Public Library at 1pm. (Recordings will be available after the event.)

Historian and author John Steinle will do a talk on his new book, Colorado’s World War II Home Front, which is a photographic narrative of Colorado's contribution during WWII. The talk will be virtual over Zoom, though it will be presented in a group setting at the Animas Museum. Copies of the book will be available for sale as well. Register for the Zoom link here.

Thirteen thousand women proved up on homesteads in Colorado in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Who were these women who defied cultural norms of the day to establish homes of their owns? Author Gail Beaton brings their experiences, grit, and perseverance to light in her new book Colorado Women Homesteaders. She will discuss this book virtually over Zoom, though it will be presented in a group setting at the Animas Museum. Copies of the book will be available for sale as well. Register for the Zoom link here.

Saturday, December 19th, 10am-4pm (Open House): Come to the Animas Museum for a festive vibe, treats, and a temporary display of 1930s toys to put yourself in the holiday spirit!

New exhibit, now open in the Ballantine Gallery.

Videos

Maybe you are old enough to remember the "Bicentennial Minutes" broadcast by CBS from 1974 to 1976? These were a popular series of short videos that highlighted moments in the American Revolution. At the Animas Museum, we were inspired to do something similar based on the "Moments That Made US" theme, one of the initiatives of History Colorado for 2026.

This is the first of our series, each video will tie together an artifact and photos with a story from an oral history, all from our collection. Mary Hansen's story was told to us by her grandsons. Watch the video on our YouTube channel @animasmuseum or here.

We are proud to be part of the Portrait of Colorado at 150 Storytelling project. Learn more about it and find an inventory of existing oral histories in Southwest Colorado here.

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.