Willoughby: Redstone Historical Society — creating a home for treasures

The Aspen Times, June 10, ran an article about the Redstone Historical Society’s fundraising to purchase a permanent home. The location: one of the Osgood cottages built in 1902, historic inside and out, with furnishings very near the original era. 

Since that article came out, The History Colorado State Historical Fund awarded the Redstone Historical Society $250,000 for the cottage acquisition, along with other commitments, so they can move forward with the purchase.

It is worth reviewing the Aspen Historical Society’s evolution to understand the significance and importance of the Redstone Historical Society’s quest for a permanent home and for supporting its efforts to save the past. 

Visitors to Aspen in the 1950s came for the Music Festival, skiing, and other activities but also enjoyed the mining era Victorian structures and often wanted to know more about the mining history that produced them. Dorothy Shaw, the daughter of Aspen pioneers, and her husband, William “Judge” Shaw, whose parents also were early pioneers, bought up several older buildings in Aspen, some containing relics from the past. She amassed clothing, pictures, furniture, and other items and decided to share them with the public.

Shaw’s first display, in 1950, was in a window of the building next to what was then known as the Epicure on Main Street. In 1953, she converted one of the old buildings they owned on Hyman Avenue next to the Wheeler (see picture) into a museum. It was her hobby, but it did not stay open for long.

The State Historical Society visited in 1961 and let the community know that it was trying to amass Aspen items for its collection. Fortunately, not much was turned over because, at the end of 1962, a group of locals began talking about forming a historical society and, early in 1963, a decade after Shaw’s museum, the Aspen Historical Society opened an office in the Elks Building, and the city let them have a display at City Hall (Armory Hall).

It raised money mostly through members of the society paying an annual dues of $2 ($16 in today’s dollars). As donations of items came in, the society needed more museum space. It secured a lease from the city in the Wheeler in 1965. It outgrew that space, and the city wanted to use the space they had in the Wheeler, so in 1967, it initiated the acquisition of its current location, the Stallard House, opening in January 1969.

The AHS built a separate building in 1977 to house its growing archive collection. It currently has tens of thousands of photos and close to 8,000 objects. Over the years, it added other museum/sites to preserve the past. It worked with the Historic Preservation Commission to protect building heritage. It also developed/develops programs/events that bring history to the public.

Going back to Dorothy Shaw’s time: The materials she collected could easily have ended up in the dump (Some did, but fortunately were saved). People move and don’t go through the boxes in their basements and attics, easier to throw them out. Over time, history is erased, especially after generations expire without passing on stories and keepsakes.

The Redstone Historic Society has been working for years to preserve their past. It is a smaller town, but it has an interesting history. The cottage that will be their museum was the creation of John Cleveland Osgood, who founded the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company.

Osgood, intentionally, built a company village that provided a higher quality of life for his employees and their families, with a school and recreational facilities. It was an experiment to create a stable, happy workforce. Unfortunately, times and pressure from competitors erased his plan but not the village.

Like Aspen, workers came and went over the decades of the town. They took their stories with them, but their progeny are interested. The core of the founders of the Redstone Historic Society have long histories there, multiple generations. Remembering and preserving the past provides treasures important to fostering the future.

Tim Willoughby’s family story parallels Aspen’s. He began sharing folklore while teaching at Aspen Country Day School and Colorado Mountain College. Now a tourist in his native town, he views it with historical perspective. Reach him at redmtn2@comcast.net.