By Shannon Lukens.

 

The library in Maybell has an exhibit about the history of Maybell, including family histories, the school and the library throughout the years.

Alana McIntyre is the Maybell librarian.

“We have the old newspapers from Colorado Prospector that have just been collected, and the Maybell Gazette and a lot of books from the original library are all on display.”

 

The Maybell Library started back in 1911 in a patron’s house. It is part of the Moffat County Library system. The exhibit will be on display throughout this week.

The Maybell Library has also started up Kids Club Fridays at 2 p.m. where local kids can do crafts and have snacks. McIntyre says they will be planting flowers in the spring. And they plan to start an indoor garden and raise butterflies.

 

Maybell has a population of less than 100 people, according to the 2020 census. It was founded in the 1880s and named after May Bell, who was the wife of a local cattleman. It’s right along US Highway 40. There’s a  gas station  for folks headed west from Steamboat, and then from Craig which is 30 miles away, on to Utah which is another 61 miles to the border. The post office in Maybell has been in operation since 1884.

Another claim to fame for Maybell is that the coldest temperature ever recorded in the state of Colorado was minus 61 degrees on February 1, 1985.

And Maybell has the only one-room schoolhouse left in the state.