OURAY COUNTY MUSEUM

The Museum, housed in the original St. Joseph's Miners' Hospital at 420 Sixth Ave, was completed in 1887. In its early days the Sisters of Mercy operated it with the staff coming from Durango, Colorado and Omaha, Nebraska. It was a hospital until 1964. In 1971 the Ouray County Historical Society began exhibiting in the building and in 1976 purchased the building for a museum. There are three floors containing exhibits in twenty-seven rooms. Many additional displays are located in hall cases, alcoves and the original hospital dumb waiters. The Museum staff are continually updating and expanding the displays. In addition, the Museum features a Research Center containing much written information and thousands of photographs.

The Museum features mining, ranching and railroading, the three main means of employment in Ouray's early history. It houses many artifacts dating back to Ouray's earliest days which began in 1875. There are large displays of minerals and Indian artifacts. Among other displays the Museum also houses a simulated mine, the hospital operating room, lawyer's, dentist's and doctor's offices, the old Ouray Jail, a blacksmith shop and the original furnishings from Tom Walsh's Camp Bird Mine Office.

In 2006 the Museum received eight fireproof filing cabinets containing the historical notes and photographs of noted author and historian Doris Gregory. In 2002 and 2006 the Museum received a large collection of valuable minerals from John H. Marshall. These beautiful specimens are housed in four lighted mineral display cases. In 2000 the Museum received a generous gift from Ross Moore of Lake Jackson, Texas. The William Ross Moore Mining History Library of the American West is a very valuable 7,000-piece collection of material addressing the topics of mining, mineralogy and geology.

You'll want to set aside a minimum of one hour for your visit. Many tourists and residents of Ouray spend several hours touring the Museum. The Museum also has a bookstore carrying many books on Ouray County History including the three volumes of The Ouray County Historical Society Magazine. Staff and volunteers are always on hand to answer your questions and assist you with research and bookstore sales.

The museum calendar of events is posted throughout Ouray County and online at: www.ouraycountyhistoricalsociety.org.

The museum hosts a series of events each year to include guided walking tours and hikes, evenings of history lectures, Vintage Baseball, and many other special programs highlight the history of our wonderful town.

For more on the History of Ouray, click here.