Buena Vista Heritage is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization that exists to preserve and share the history of Buena Vista and Chaffee County for the education and enjoyment of the public.  Our goal is to preserve, protect and restore any historical site, building, and artifact pertaining to the Town of Buena Vista, Chaffee County, as well as areas in central and/or western Colorado.  We want to recreate and share the special stories unique to our area.

 Our organization and properties are managed by a limited staff and lots of volunteers. Volunteer? We would love to have you!

Buena Vista Heritage is excited to announce that KOA Journey in Buena Vista found buried treasure on their property. Well, we history nuts consider it a treasure: a horse-drawn hay mower and plow, two wagon axels with wheels, as well as an early model motorized ice saw on their property. This past Friday, they donated the items to the museum and we are so excited to exhibit these cool pieces of history! Thankfully Gunsmoke Towing generously offered to move everything because it was quite a job getting the artifacts to our locations. The Historic Turner Farm & Apple Orchard is the new house for the farm equipment located at 829 West Main Street, and the Ice Saw will become part of an outdoor exhibit located at the 1882 Historic County Courthouse 506 East Main Street. We can wait to show off our new items when we reopen around Memorial Day! 

Buena Vista Heritage would like to say a heartfelt thank you to The Lettucehead Food Company and The Arkansas Valley Car Club for making substainal contributions to our organization for 2021. Our board of directors and staff are grateful for this support.

The Letucehead made a $2000 donation to Buena Vista Heritage this holiday season.  Tom Liverman, the owner, has been a supporter of Buena Vista Heritage for many years. The Lettucehead emblem is from the Buena Vista Heritage collection. Buenakist was the name used 100 years ago by head lettuce growers in this area.  The Lettucehead Food Company carries vitamins, supplements, fresh organic food, many gluten free items and a full line of food products.   For more information check out their facebook page under The Lettucehead Food Company.

The  Arkansas Valley Car Club made a generous donation of $1,530.00 to the Courthouse Museum and the Depot and Transportation  Museum.  With this donation BVH will create new exhibits highlighting transportation in the Arkansas Valley explicitly dealing with automobiles.  The Arkansas Valley Car Club is a family-oriented organization.  All car and truck enthusiasts are invited to join the fun.  AVCC  held its first meeting in 1986 and have donated extensively to students and community organizations. At the end of 2020, AVCC membership voted to dissolve its corporate and non-profit statuses.  The club continues as a social entity to attend area car shows, swap meets,  regular fun gatherings and will continue to participate in the Adopt-A-Highway program sponsored by the Colorado Department of Transportation. For more information about the club go to (www.facebook.com/avcc.carclub.5).

Buena Vista Heritage's mission is to preserve and share Buena Vista and Chaffee County's history for the public's education and enjoyment. We preserve, protect and restore any historical sites, buildings and artifacts relating to the Town of Buena Vista, Chaffee County, and central and western Colorado.  Our goal is to remember and share the remarkable stories unique to our area.