Press Release

More than Mud exhibit opens at Fort Vasquez Museum

PLATTEVILLE, Colo. (May 11, 2018) – Fort Vasquez Museum, a Community Museum of History Colorado, debuted a new exhibit, More than Mud, on the history of adobe on Friday, May 11, 2018. The exhibit focuses on the history of the construction method in Colorado and the West.

More than Mud is the first major exhibit redesign since Fort Vasquez Museum opened in 1958. The new interpretation tells the stories of the early fur trading posts along the Front Range and the influence of Mexican builders on the largely treeless plains. It also highlights the story of the archaeological exploration and reconstruction of the original Fort Vasquez, begun in the 1930s as a New Deal project.

“The story of the West cannot be complete without adobe and the people who worked it to build the forts for the fur traders.” said Fort Vasquez Museum Director Bill Armstrong. “We are thrilled to shed new light on this oldest construction method and to be able to tell the history of the fur trade through this new lens.”

Visitors to the new exhibit will see artifacts of the fur trade-era, including a Hispano beaver felt sombrero and trade beads, and of the adobe history of the West, like adobe brick molds and shovels. Interactive activities for all ages include an adobe molding station. On weekends, living history interpreters will hold participatory adobe-making demonstrations.

Fort Vasquez Museum is the site of an 1835 fur trading post founded on the South Platte River by Louis Vasquez and Andrew Sublette. The site was reconstructed by the Works Progress Administration in 1937 and History Colorado took possession of the site in 1958. It is located at 13412 US Highway 85 in Platteville. It is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is by suggested donation, $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for children. For the summer, Fort Vasquez Museum hosts a ticketed living history program Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. More than Mud is included in admission. For more information, visit www.FortVasquezMuseum.org.