September Hours:
Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday: 12:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Closed: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, except by appointment.
MUSEUM CLOSES FOR THE SEASON AT 5 PM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30.
To schedule an appointment or group tour, please e-mail buenavistaheritage@msn.com or call (719) 395-8458.
There will be a Chautauqua Friday, May 20th at the museum. Come hear stories by local favorites: Ada Morrison, Suzy Kelly, Joe Cogan, Betty Farrington and more. Watch the newspaper for more information or follow Buena Vista Heritage on Facebook!
We are choosing the dates for this year's Cemetery Tours. If you would like to "Play Dead" contact Kathi at buenavistaheritage@msn.com
Check out the new Historical 10K run coming June 4, 2011 under our event calendar.
We regret to announce that the St. Elmo Auction will not take place in 2011--we hope to collect enough items to have an auction in 2012. Thanks for your support in the past!
Depot Restoration Almost Complete!
Buena Vista Heritage selected Older Than Dirt Construction of Salida as its contractor for 
the second phase of the Depot Restoration. This phase has restored the interior of the building to its original state. We are now working on exhibits for the Freight Room with Traub Design Associates. The project is scheduled to be completed by summer of 2011. We are excited to say we are planning a GRAND OPENING on FOURTH of JULY WEEKEND!! Don't miss it!
The budget for the restoration was $145,000. Funds came from a grants from the State Historical Fund, the Boettcher Foundation, and donations from individuals, Chaffee County, and the Denver South Park and Pacific Historical Society. The budget for the exhibits is $36,000. Funds for the exhibits were donated by Freeport McMoRan (Climax Molybdenum) in Leadville. Thank you to these generous supporters!
Update on Hose Carts
We asked for funds to restore our hose carts, and you responded! We have now raised about two-thirds of the funds needed to get the wheels fixed, and they were sent off with local wagon restoration expert Charlie Abel of Woolly Bear Trading Company on April 12. Charlie works regularly with an Amish friend on such projects. As the craftsmen meet only twice a year to transport wheels and other projects, we needed to raise funds in time for the April cycle.
We still need your donations for this project. When the wheels return to us in the fall, we'll owe $600 to pay off the bill, plus we're still raising money to restore the body of the carts.
Please consider donating toward the restoration of the hose carts today! We've already received donations of $1600 for this project -- with your help we can restore both hose carts to the condition they deserve. Donations can be made online or mailed to P.O. Box 1414, Buena Vista, 81211. Pledges are welcome, too, and will help our board make decisions about the level of restoration we can afford. If you can’t send the full amount now, please let us know now what amount you can pledge to donate by August 1.
The two- and four-wheeled hose carts that have for many years graced the front lawn of the Buena Vista Heritage Museum are showing serious signs of wear. Estimates for restoring were requested on two levels: at minimum, stopping the deterioration and, ideally, full restoration. To restore just one cart at the minimal level we need to raise $1000; to restore both to the top level would take $5900.
Hose Cart Donation
Online Payments
BV Heritage has accepted credit cards for many years, but now we can accept credit card transactions online. You can now pay your membership online, buy event tickets online and make a donation online.
HAUNTED HISTORY TOUR
The Final Rising of our Founding Families
near Halloween at Mt. Olivet Cemetery
Well, my friends, our season has ended. It is getting too cold for our old bodies to make the long trip up for our monthly meetings, so our last one will be TBA. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m referring to the Cemetery Tour at Mount Olivet Cemetery. Every month, from June to September some of the first families of Buena Vista and I (the Mother of Buena Vista) come back to see how the town looks and to tell anyone who will listen about how life was back in the “good ole days.”
We decided to make a special trip up this month. We’ll meet you at 8:00 p.m., after it’s dark. We will all have lanterns so that you can see us and we will tell you all about our wonderful lives back when Buena Vista was a new township. We have some really fun stories to tell you. Like the time Martha and I got into a bit of an argument… O, we’ll tell you about that on Saturday.
Join us for the Haunted History Tour. All proceeds benefit Buena Vista Heritage Museum. Tickets will be $5 for adults and $2 for students. (We suggest only 12 and up attend as we don’t want to frighten any children with the darkness and lanterns. This is not a scary tour in the least, but we still don’t want any problems. )
This is a once in a lifetime deal (yours, not ours. Our lifetimes are already over.). We usually we tour by daylight and don’t use lanterns.
Come hear about the naming of Buena Vista, how one man lived through a bear attack, and why you should never trust canned spinach. We plan to return around Halloween at 8 p.m. at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Just look for the lanterns!
Sincerely,
Alsina Dearheimer