Oral Histories
Discover Oral Histories
Search for oral history recordings and transcripts in the History Colorado Online Collection. Many, but not all, of the oral history records listed in the online collection have transcripts attached and/or SoundCloud links to listen to the interviews. If you have questions, please contact cosearch@state.co.us.
Enjoy a New Program
Echoes from The Collection is a 15-minute historical drama that takes the listener back to the golden age of radio. The first season features dramatic readings drawn from the Civil Works Administration (CWA) Pioneer Interviews that were conducted by New Deal historians in the 1930s.
Listen to the series on SoundCloud.
CWA Pioneer Interviews
The CWA Pioneer Interviews are the result of a project led by the Civil Works Administration in Colorado in 1933-34. The interviews were conducted with people who had lived in selected areas of the state over a long period of time and could provide insight into life in Colorado from a personal point of view. The interviews cover a wide variety of subjects pertaining to Colorado history.
PDF scans of the CWA Pioneer Interviews are available below. Interviews are grouped by county, though not all counties were included in the Pioneer Interviews project.
A citation for a CWA Pioneer Interview gives the volume and number of the interview. For example, a citation of PAM 351/22 means the interview is in volume 351, interview number 22.
To locate interviews by subject, author, title, or keyword, please start your search in the History Colorado Online Collection.
This is an ongoing project - please check back for new content and additional PDFs for download! For more information about the CWA Pioneer Interviews, please contact us at cosearch@state.co.us.
By County:
Alamosa (v.349) | Arapahoe (v.358) | Archuleta (v.367)
Chaffee (v.346) | Clear Creek (v.355) | Conejos (v.349)
Costilla (v.349) | Delta (v.365) | El Paso (v.345)
Fremont (v.366) | Garfield (v.347) | Gunnison (v.350)
Huerfano (v.363) | Jefferson (v.354) | Kit Carson (v.350)
La Plata (v.362) | Larimer (v.353 & v.361) | Las Animas (v.359)
Logan (v.341) | Mesa (v.364) | Moffat (v.356) | Montezuma (v.360)
Montrose (v.357) | Morgan (v.351) | Otero (v.360)
Phillips (v.341) | Prowers (v.355) | Pueblo (v.344)
Rio Blanco (v.342) | Rio Grande (v.367) | Routt (v.358)
Saguache (v.367) | Sedgwick (v.351) | Weld (v.343) | Yuma (v.352)
341: Logan & Phillips (interviews 1-25)
341: Logan & Phillips (interviews 26-52)
342: Rio Blanco (interviews 1-25)
342: Rio Blanco (interviews 26-50)
342: Rio Blanco (interviews 51-75)
342: Rio Blanco (interviews 76-84)
343: Weld (interviews 1-25)
343: Weld (interviews 26-44)
344: Pueblo (interviews 1-10)
344: Pueblo (interviews 11-15)
344: Pueblo (interviews 16-20)
344: Pueblo (interviews 21-25)
344: Pueblo (interviews 26-35)
344: Pueblo (interviews 36-45)
344: Pueblo (interviews 46-55)
344: Pueblo (interviews 56-72)
344: Pueblo (interviews 73-78)
345: El Paso (interviews 1-14)
346: Chaffee (interviews 1-25)
346: Chaffee (interviews 26-32)
347: Garfield (interviews 1-18)
349: Alamosa, Conejos, & Costilla (interviews 1-5)
349: Alamosa, Conejos, & Costilla (interviews 6-15)
349: Alamosa, Conejos, & Costilla (interviews 16-30)
349: Alamosa, Conejos, & Costilla (interviews 31-49)
350: Kit Carson & Gunnison (interviews 1-25)
350: Kit Carson & Gunnison (interviews 26-50)
350: Kit Carson & Gunnison (interviews 51-71)
351: Morgan & Sedgwick (interviews 1-25)
351: Morgan & Sedgwick (interviews 26-50)
351: Morgan & Sedgwick (interviews 51-75)
351: Morgan & Sedgwick (interviews 76-100)
351: Morgan & Sedgwick (interviews 101-110)
352: Yuma (interviews 1-10)
352: Yuma (interviews 11-20)
352: Yuma (interviews 21-33)
353: Larimer (interviews 1-10)
353: Larimer (interviews 11-20)
353: Larimer (interviews 21-30)
353: Larimer (interviews 31-40) Note: please see volume 361 for more Larimer County interviews.
354: Jefferson (interviews 1-25)
354: Jefferson (interviews 26-33)
355: Prowers & Clear Creek (interviews 1-25)
355: Prowers & Clear Creek (interviews 26-50)
355: Prowers & Clear Creek (interviews 51-63)
356: Moffat (interviews 1-25)
356: Moffat (interviews 26-50)
356: Moffat (interviews 51-74)
357: Montrose (interviews 1-25)
357: Montrose (interviews 26-50)
357: Montrose (interviews 51-75)
357: Montrose (interviews 76-100)
357: Montrose (interviews 101-125)
357: Montrose (interviews 126-143)
358: Routt & Arapahoe (interviews 1-15)
358: Routt & Arapahoe (interviews 16-25)
358: Routt & Arapahoe (interviews 26-37)
359: Las Animas (interviews 1-5)
359: Las Animas (interviews 6-10)
359: Las Animas (interviews 11-20)
359: Las Animas (interviews 21-30)
359: Las Animas (interviews 31-32; 34-39)
360: Otero & Montezuma (interviews 1-25)
360: Otero & Montezuma (interviews 26-50)
360: Otero & Montezuma (interviews 51-75)
360: Otero & Montezuma (interviews 76-100)
360: Otero & Montezuma (interviews 101-112)
361: Larimer (interviews 1-25)
361: Larimer (interviews 26-36) Note: please see volume 353 for more Larimer County interviews.
362: La Plata (interviews 1-25)
362: La Plata (interviews 26-44)
363: Huerfano (interviews 1-20)
365: Delta (interviews 1-25)
365: Delta (interviews 26-32)
367: Rio Grande, Saguache, & Archuleta (interviews 1-25)
367: Rio Grande, Saguache, & Archuleta (interviews 26-35)
For more information about the CWA Pioneer Interviews, please contact us at cosearch@state.co.us.