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San Juan County Historical Society Silverton, Colorado |
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To contact us: |
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San Juan County Historical Society P.O. Box 154 Silverton, Colorado 81433 |
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The San Juan County Historical Society was established in 1964 as a non-profit Colorado corporation for those interested in the preservation of the history of San Juan County, Colorado.
Establishment of a museum had long been a topic of discussion, and in August 1964 a committee was formed to explore the possibility. Those first members, Robert W. Delaney, David Howes, Fern Howes, Allen Nossaman, Helen Salfisberg, Ian Thompson and Janet Thompson, became the nucleus of the San Juan County Historical Society.
The committee officially became the San Juan County Historical Society in September of 1964, and by December was officially a non-profit corporation. This was a major step in assuring the permanence of the Society.
In spite of many obstacles, two floors of the unheated jail opened as a Museum on May 29, 1965.
The directors soon determined some of the old and fragile documents were not suitable for museum display, so a separate space was designated for their safekeeping. For several years the basement of Silverton’s Carnegie Library was used for that purpose. Donations continued to grow and it became apparent there was a real need for an Archive.
Eventually, in 1995, the Society saw the realization of an Archive building, built next door to the old jail Museum. The new building was designed especially for preservation of historic records, and today the Archive is widely used by researchers, students and family members interested in genealogical research.
The Society has continued to work in the preservation process. They have a full operational Archive; a Museum; an extensive collection of photographs and documents; they have helped in the stabilization of several old mining structures in the county, including the Old Hundred boarding house in Cunningham Gulch and several structures at Animas Forks. The Mayflower Mill was declared a National Historical Landmark for the work done by the Historical Society. The Society has successfully relocated the old Caledonian boarding house behind the Museum and Archive, as the site of our Mining Heritage Center.
The San Juan County Historical Society has kept its original purpose always in mind - to preserve for the future the history of San Juan County, Colorado. |
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Copyright © San Juan County Historical Society |
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San Juan County Historical Society |
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Silverton, Colorado |
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San Juan County Historical Society, all rights reserved |