Burlington’s Old Town Museum is a historical site of over six acres, which includes twenty-one restored buildings. These buildings are full of authentic artifacts from the turn of the twentieth century.
The Old Town Museum was opened in 1986 during the city’s centennial in order to preserve the history of Colorado’s first settlers. Close to I-70 near Colorado’s eastern border, Old Town Museum is a remembrance and celebration of Colorado’s agricultural history and heritage.
Exhibits
The Old Town Museum offers everything from live shows and gun-fight reenactments to stores with handcrafted local gifts and a soda fountain. The Old Town Museum’s collection includes tens of thousands of photographs, artifacts, and documents, mostly from Burlington’s early days. Most artifacts once belonged to original residents of Burlington and the neighboring environs.
Historic Buildings – Old Town Museum’s numerous historic buildings were moved onto the property over the years to improve the authenticity of the museum. Buildings of note include the Old Town Barn, which was built in 1937 and is able to hold over a hundred-eighty tons of hay. Currently, it’s available to rent out for weddings, corporate meetings, birthday parties, and other events in addition to being open to tours.
The Depot is the oldest building at the museum, built by the Rock Island Railroad company in Bethune CO in 1889. It was used until the early ‘40s. It houses an original blueprint of the depot drawn up in 1915, as well as pieces of track and a pot-bellied stove.
The other buildings of interest are a schoolhouse, which was constructed in 1911, a church dating from 1921 built with a sloped floor (so the people sitting in the back could see the preacher up front), and a grand old family house built in 1915.
Special Events
While the site is open year-round, the summer months have the most to offer visitors. There are gunfighter reenactments and can-can dancing every Saturday at noon. On the fourth Friday and Saturday of May through August, the museum hosts a Wild West Dinner Theater at the Longhorn Saloon, complete with a meal and melodrama.
Admission
The Old Town Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday between Memorial Day and Labor Day, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the winter months. Admission charge for adults and variable for children of different ages, although children 3 and under and military members get in for free.
Details
Address: 420 S 14th St, Burlington, CO 80807
Phone: 800-288-1334
Season: Year round
Website: oldtownburlington.com
