Trinidad History Museum

Our Exhibits

Bloom Mansion

The Bloom Mansion is an outstanding example of ornate Second Empire architecture constructed in 1882. The friendly and knowledgeable staff relate information about the Bloom family and the rooming house phase of the mid-twentieth century. 

Baca House

In 1873, Felipe and Dolores Baca traded 22,000 pounds of wool for an unusual adobe house built for Santa Fe Trail entrepreneur John Hough. The Baca House boasts two stories, a widow's walk, and Greek architectural details. Colorful Rio Grande textiles, Victorian furniture, and other period furnishings evoke the lifestyle of this prominent family.

Santa Fe Trail Museum

The Santa Fe Trail Museum displays historic photographs, commercial goods, and family heirlooms from Trail days through Trinidad's heyday at the turn of the century. A fringed buckskin coat that Kit Carson gave to a pioneer mayor is a local treasure.

Barglow Building

Four Doric columns and a Greek pediment porch frame the entrance to the Barglow Building, built in 1906 as a medical office and family apartment.  Today the building houses the Davenport Gallery, Book and Gift Shop, Ticket Office, Education Center, and Colorado Byways and Tourist Information Center.

Baca-Bloom Heritage Gardens

Colorful Victorian flowers, antique roses and grape vines adorn the Bloom yard where you can relax with a game of croquet. Heirloom herbs and vegetables flourish in the Southwest Kitchen Garden and Annual Ethnic Garden. Native flowers, cacti and grasses thrive throughout the heritage gardens. This oasis in the city is a Plant Select site featuring water-wise plants certified for Colorado’s climate.

Programs and Education

Tribal Paths Online

This online exhibit looks at major events in the history of American Indians in Colorado over the past five centuries—trade networks; encounters with newcomers; the removal of tribes to reservations; the children’s experience with boarding schools; and the American Indian civil rights movement.

Hands-On History

Check out our Hands-On History after school programs and day camps!

School Tours

Listen, Look & Do! (1 hour, pre-k to first grade): This tour is designed to introduce younger students to Colorado history in an exciting and fun way. The tour includes an interactive story time, mini-tour of our museum, and an engaging activity perfect for early learners.

Trinidad Time Travelers (2 hours, all ages): In this school tour, students have the opportunity to discover the rich history of Trinidad and some of its key historical figures through interactive, hands-on activities like wool dyeing, building adobe bricks, and exploring our historic houses. Students will learn about the Baca and Bloom families as well as other important people in Trinidad's past. This tour can be adjusted for any grade level and meets Colorado Academic Standards.

Santa Fe Explorers (2 hours, 3rd grade and up): Our Santa Fe Explorers school tour focuses on the history of the Santa Fe Trail in the Trinidad area and its importance in Southern Colorado history. Students will participate in problem solving activities and games related to trading, life on the trail, and the different cultural groups that influenced the trail.

Learn more about the History Colorado Bus Fund.

History Take Out

Moving Day: Colorado Culture. Using objects, photos, and a large walk-on map of the state, students will learn about different cultural groups from Colorado history including the Ute, miners, ancestral Puebloans, and mountain men.

Western Work: Colorado Industries of the Past. Students will engage with some objects and become "entrepreneurs" in some of Colorado's most important industries. Western Work meets economic, history and geography standards and encourages students to explore natural, capital, and human resources through a historical lens.

For more information call Abigail Melton at 719-846-7217.