By Shannon Lukens.

 

The Hayden Heritage Center has a new exhibit of rocks, minerals and fossils along with an exhibit on Mount Harris and the Coal Camps along Hwy 40.

 

The Hayden museum is in the old train depot in town, which was built in 1918. Laurel Watson is the curator.

“The quarter horse bloodlines of old Fred and Peter McCue started in West Routt County. We also have the coal mining history. We are the caretakers for the Mount Harris Memorial on Highway 40, so we have a huge collection of Mount Harris items and our coal mining legacy. We have a lot of local family stories.”

History of the American Quarter Horse

 

Another upstairs exhibit includes the 1920s kitchen with the original refrigerator. This is where the station manager got to live with his family, as part of his job of running the station and the telegraph.

 

The Hayden Train Depot was built in 1918, and considered to be very modern at the time. Watson says it had centralized heat, indoor plumbing, and electricity as well as a large wait room and separate restrooms for men and women.

 

This was a wedding dress from 1870.

 

There is a picture of old Routt County schoolhouses.

 

There is a western room with saddles, mostly made by local saddle maker Ernest Wagner who rode a bicycle to Hayden in 1901 from Denver.

 

There is also a WWI and WWII exhibit and a Routt County Fair Exhibit.

Hours of the museum are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The museum is free but donations are greatly appreciated. There is also a research library.