Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum

The Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum covers the history of the Pikes Peak region with a particular focus on the city of Colorado Springs.

From Native American history to the founding of Colorado Springs and its mining history, the Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum has exhibits on a range of issues.

History of Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum

The Colorado Springs Pioneer museum is located in a building which was formerly the El Paso County Courthouse from 1903 to 1973.

The museum opened in 1979, and displays a wide variety of both temporary and long term exhibits, lectures, programs, tours, and special events in order to fulfil their mission to ‘build a lasting connection to the Pikes Peak region by preserving and sharing [their] cultural history.’

The museum contains more than 60,000 cultural and historic artefacts. The main collection includes items that relate to the city’s founding, mining industry, health resort industry, and more recently its use as a centre for military training and operations.

The famous Van Briggle Pottery, regional art, and a ‘nationally significant collection of quilts’ are part of the collection. It also houses archives and a research library that includes manuscripts, early photographs, bound newspapers, and city directories from the 1870s.

Exhibits have covered subjects such as space exploration, juke boxes, and baseball memorabilia. The museum has been awarded both local and national awards, and is fully accredited by the American Association of Museums.

The museum is also surrounded by picturesque grounds and outdoor sculptures.

Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum Today

The museum is situated in an area that contains a combination of historical sites and information points. Within the museum itself is the Starsmore Centre for Local History which has a Pikes Peak Region research library and archives. This collection also includes manuscript collections, city directories, newspapers, and images. Entrance to the museum is free of charge, but donations are gratefully accepted.

Between the numerous objects, special events, and lecture series, visitors should leave the museum with a deeper knowledge of the Colorado Springs region and its founders.

Getting to Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum

The Museum is a two minute drive and an eight minute walk from the centre of Colorado Springs, via S Nevada Ave.

From nearby city Denver, the museum is an hour and a half drive via the l-25 S. Equally, there is a frequent bus and tram service – the ‘Greyhound’, CDOT South Line, H, and E-Line – that take around an hour and a half from Denver.