san juan county historical society

Silverton is very special. I have been there many times over the years. I don't visit Colorado without finding an excuse to visit Silverton (and Ouray). Silverton has very few lodging choices. Of course, there are reasons for that. It is nearly inaccessible for much of the year and it lies at an elevation of about 9,500 feet. The Museum is very interesting, as others have said, and I refer you to those reviews. Instead, I will focus on the town, and writing my review under the Museum listing seems like the best option. When you drive into Silverton, stop at the Visitor's Center. There is much to see and do in this ancient mining town, and a stop here is well worth the time. Drive down Main Street and park your car. Walk up and down both sides of the street, stopping for coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, homemade fudge, or whatever you'd like. There is something for everyone. Main Street looks just like a Western movie set, and you will like the stores that line the street. Would you believe that Harley-Davidson has a presence in this tiny town? The two streets that run parallel to Main, one on each side of Main, are worth driving, especially if you take pictures. The street north of Main is lined with several architecturally-interesting churches from mining days. The street south of Main is lined with more shops and the train station, where occasionally you can see the Durango-Silverton train before it returns to Durango.After you have toured the streets and the Museum, give some thought to driving through the cemetery, which is a little east of town. (Get a map from the Visitor's center.) The stones are architecturally-interesting, and they tell the (often tragic) history of this mining town.Continue east of town. The asphalt eventually yields to gravel, but is well graded, and along the route you will see a number of mills and mines, some of them operating, most of them silent. If time permits, continue another few miles to "Animas," a ghost town (the road narrows, but there are plenty of turnouts). You will be glad you did. PLEASE see my review of the Grand Loop highway (found in the San Juan Forest listing under Durango, Colorado) for some driving recommendations in the Silverton/San Juan area.

lots of history here for you to enjoy. spend an hour or two or more the museum is awesome is not to expensive.

Huge collection of late 1800 artifacts and a self guided tour of the original jail / cage of this wild west mining town.

This is not a classically curated museum - rather it is more of a folk museum, albeit with a mining bent. But what a little treasure trove. The county jail was particularly interesting but the remainder of the complex was filled with a wide variety of collections from door knobs to fireman's helmets with lots of technology oriented items. Perhaps a few more words explaining some exhibits might have been useful, but this is a minor quibble. If you're doing the Durango-Silverton train trip and looking to fill an hour then this is for you. Definitely good value at $7 per person.

It costs $7 to get in and doesn't look like much but it is amazing everything that they were able to fit into this space! You start out in the jailers house and see the jail rooms and where the sheriff lived. You can actually go into the cells and it makes for a great photo op. You then take an underground tunnel and get to look at all of the historical mining equipment. They have quite the collection. They have several rooms that include old equipment for mining, post office, and daily life in Silverton. If you are in town this is a must see!

In historical county jail one not only sees interesting artifacts of the town's past but be prepared for the most extensive rock and mineral collection related to area mining outside of a university collection.

Didn't look like much when we drove up, but once we entered it was an extraordinary old time history museum. The exhibits are marvelous especially the jail section. Don't miss this one

The SJCHS has a museum on the South end of town... next to the courthouse. For a town its size.. it's really good. They show many aspects of the mining business and related industries.. like jails, stagecoaches and person life. It's like most other places, but covers a lot of space. Many museums take an hour or so, but give this one two. Lots of stuff to see.The cost for an adult is $7... and supports the historical society. They have some rock specimens for sale.. and they are the cheapest anywhere in the State. Plenty of books and such also.. all fairly priced. For $7, you can't go wrong here.

A great museum that is really well put together. The museum focuses In the history of Silverton and the mining that took place here.During the tour you will go into the old jail that has been restored. You will tour a three story mining exhibit that explains the basic principles of how mines operated in this area. You will see old mining equipment and tools, minerals and ores, and many old artifacts from the past.The building that houses everything is as interesting as the artifacts as it is built with large wood beams and hardware.I highly recommend touring here and then afterwards tour the Mayflower mill about a mile away.

We spent over an hour going through the entire museum which on in several buildings all connected. There was an elevator in the main building for all 3 floors. Many, many artifacts and old items from back in the day. We also enjoyed the collections of minerals and rocks that were loaned by individual collectors. We had plenty of time to peruse after riding the train up from Durango.

This museum, next to the county court house is deceiving. Your tour starts in the old jail, with escape proof steel cells built inside the second floor room but as your tour continues, you go through a tunnel into the main museum that is devoted to the mining history of this town aptly named "SILVER"ton. There is a three-story display of the method used to mine and remove ore from the underground tunnels, hundreds of artifacts from minerals mined to the suits rescue workers have used through the years. Our whole family, from 12 to 77 enjoyed the visit and came away with a much better idea of the work mining entails. Even better than a tour of a mine itself!! And when you are done here, visit the mill!!

This museum and the adjoining old jail were worth every penny of the entry fee. We spent two hours rambling around in it and I think I could have gone back through and still have seen things I missed on the first trip. Almost all of the exhibits are provided by and staged by volunteers, and the docent at the desk told us that they move things around as on a whim, so there is surely no way we could have seen it all. There's a point at which you reach a kind of sensory overload, so don't even try to get it all in-- instead, plan to come back again. Everyone we spoke with at the museum was helpful and friendly and committed to providing a good experience, and it showed. It's all spread out over two buildings and several floors, and I don't think they had an elevator (I might simply have missed it) so the stairs might be a deterrent for some.

there is actually quite a bit of things to see and do at this little historical place. We spent quite a bit of time there. It was really interesting to see (and read) how Silverton came to be and how it's changed to what it has become today! Well worth taking the time to see it!

After running around the mountains, sometimes it is kind of hard to slow down to go look at a museum - but this one is worth it. It actually is one of the best small town museums I have seen. The museum houses a vast collection of sundry items - but also houses one of the old jails (there were others at given times in SIlverton's history). The aspect I found most interesting was the recreation of the interiors, blacksmith shop etc. of mines. I spoke with the historian (who was manning the ticket sales) and she told me that former local miners designed and contributed to the exhibit themselves. It is obvious that the people of the town are proud of this museum, and work to add to its collections. The old jail was interesting as well, along with the jailer's living quarters below. Next time I'm in SIlverton, I will be stopping by. Their bookstore has a nice selection of books for purchase as well.

We stopped here almost as an afterthought. Almost didn't gi in after seejng it wad $7 a person. Glad we did! This place has something for any interest, not just mining stuff, slthough there is a mock-up of a mine in the basement. The old jail is recreated as well. You should check it out, none of us thought we wasted our money on this one.