Origins:

Explore the geology, flora and fauna of the Telluride region. Learn about the early explorers to the area and the Native American Ute tribe who gathered and hunted here. Play the Ute flute, drum, and “morache” or bear growler.

From Mining Camp to Community:

Discover how a remote mining camp transformed into an urban community in order to support the needs of the growing hard rock mining industry.

Home and Leisure:

Understand how the region’s immigrant residents lived resourcefully in the isolated Telluride community. Experience one woman’s account of remote mining camp life through the replica of the Tomboy Bride cabin.

Hardships and Healthcare:

Examine the challenges of living and working in a harsh mountain environment. Learn the importance of healthcare to the early settlers who faced disease, fire, floods, and avalanches and to the miners who faced cave-ins and the devastating “miners’ con.” Study equipment from the original hospital, and medicines of the past.

Mining:

Follow the development of the mining industry in the Telluride area – the discovery of gold, the ore extraction process, the workforce and labor union, and the impact of mines and miners on both the local economy and the local environment.

Wagons and Railroads:

Track the pioneering transportation methods of the “Pathfinder of the San Juans” who developed the Rio Grand Southern Railroad which served the unique needs of this remote mining community.

Innovations, Adaptations and Inventions:

Explore innovations that originated in the Telluride area in response to the unique and critical needs of the area – high-altitude trams and alternating current to aide the mining industry, and the gondola lightening protection system used in Telluride today.

Telluride Bust:

See how Telluride’s resilient population survived the depression years after mining waned and before winter sports and summer festivals boosted the region’s economy.

Telluride Reborn:

Understand how and why Telluride transformed itself from a struggling mining town to a world-renowned, recreation-based resort destination with skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, summer festivals, hiking, and biking drawing visitors from around the world