El Pueblo History Museum

10/22/2026

Join us at El Pueblo History Museum to celebrate Día de los Mu***os! Monday, November 2, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at El Pueblo History Museum.

This FREE evening of memory and festivity features dance performances, sugar skull decorating, kid-friendly activities, and food truck eats.

Contribute to our ofrenda (altar) and remember your loved ones at this community event open to all.

10/21/2026

Take a moment and learn about the world-renowned artist Eppie Archuleta. As a fourth-generation master weaver, she used traditional techniques to process her own wool before transforming it into her acclaimed rugs, tapestries, and serapes. Archuleta taught students using this loom and helped preserve the blend of Native American and Spanish designs that have been woven in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico for more than 400 years. Despite their longevity, fiber arts are far from old fashioned. “Granny core” hobbies like spinning, weaving, and knitting are ever more popular as people of all ages seek tactile experiences offline.

Eppie Archuleta was a master weaver, pictured here hand-weaving a textile. She used this loom to teach others, and it’s now part of the History Colorado Collection. History Colorado, 2023.136.34.2; 2023.136.35

10/19/2026

In the early 1870s, only a few years after the Civil War, the United States was shaken to its core by a forgotten-but-dangerous epidemic. This virus didn’t affect humans—only horses. But in a world before cars, tractors, heavy machinery, and electricity, horses practically carried the economy in their saddlebags. As hundreds of thousands of horses were laid low by disease, Americans struggled to shoulder the burden without them—literally.

Learn more about this forgotten epidemic and history of Colorado in a new article from The Colorado Magazine by Dr. Thomas Andrews of the Center of the American West.
Read more: https://h-co.org/great-horse-flu

Image 1: “Ruined, and Winter at the Door—An Episode of the Horse Plague.” An illustration by Paul Frenzeny for Harper’s Weekly, showing how dependent many American families were on their horse, and the anxiety and loss many experienced when these animals perished. Harper’s Weekly, November 23, 1872
Image 2: Horse-drawn carts and buggies in early Denver, around the late 1860s or early 1870s. History Colorado, 2022.57.15926
Image 3: Pack burros and their drivers on Ute Pass west of Colorado Springs in the late 1800s. Horses and donkeys were a vital part of the economy across the state, from rural farms to growing cities and isolated mines. Denver Public Library Western History Collection X-22266

10/19/2026

🎨 Unleash your inner creativity with celebrated Chicano artist Tony Ortega!

Looking for plans this weekend? Dive into the vibrant world of pastels in a workshop that will connect you with the cultural tradition of Día de los Mu***os at El Pueblo History Museum!

Whether you're a seasoned painter or just picking up pastel for the first time, join artist and professor Tony Ortega for an unforgettable, hands-on workshop. Learn color techniques, storytelling, and expressive stroke work straight from one of Colorado’s finest.

📆 When: Saturday, October 24, 2026 @ 11:00 AM - 2:00PM
📍 Where: El Pueblo History Museum (301 N Union Ave, Pueblo, CO)
🎟️ Spots are limited, so purchase your ticket today!

🔗 Register now at https://tickets-elpueblo.historycolorado.org/event/days-of-the-dead-tony-ortega-pastel-painting-class/tickets

Plus check out the heartfelt exhibition, Days of the Dead: Aztec Adventures of Cholo, Vato, and Pano, now on view at the museum.
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Page from Days of the Dead: Aztec Adventures of Cholo, Vato, and Pano illustrated by Tony Ortega

10/17/2026

Once slated for demolition, Pueblo's City Park Bath House was awarded a State Historical Fund grant earlier this year.

Built as an amenity for Pueblo's City Park by the Works Progress Administration program during the Great Depression, tennis players and park visitors have used the building’s tennis facilities and restrooms ever since. Today, the Boys and Girls Club of Pueblo meets there for outdoor racket activities, and local schools practice and host tournaments there.

When the community learned of the proposed demolition, the Friends of City Park and Historic Pueblo, Inc. worked with the Pueblo community, rallying city officials to recognize it as a Local Historic Landmark worth preserving. The recent grant will help begin rehabilitation of the building and its continued use for many years to come!

The Bath House in Pueblo’s City Park will be preserved, after all. Learn more about how the State Historic Fund protects essential statewide preservation projects that benefit Colorado’s communities, cultures, economies, and the environment at: https://www.historycolorado.org/state-historical-fund
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Courtesy of Friends of City Park

10/16/2026

Main Street Pueblo in the early 1900s. Pueblo officially became a city in 1873, when the census showed its population had topped 3,000. While Pueblo never rivaled Denver in size, it did compete with the capital in economic importance because of its proximity to the coal fields south of town.
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Photo: View of a busy Main Street in Pueblo (Pueblo County), Colorado. Shows pedestrians, parked cars and trolley car, ca.1915-1925.
History Colorado 91.237.399

10/15/2026

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Passed in the wake of the destruction of historic neighborhoods and communities during urban renewal and federal highway construction, the Act gave local voices, including local governments, state agencies, Tribes, and the public a seat at the table to shape how federal projects are implemented in the communities we know best.

Unfortunately, as we mark this milestone anniversary we also face unprecedented threats to this longstanding and collaborative process. With proposed changes to Section 106 of the NHPA introduced in the Senate in late September, as well as procedural changes proposed at the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, Coloradans risk losing their seat at the table.

When those who know our communities best are kept out of the decision making, we risk loss of the places and communities that define Colorado, the material evidence of our nation’s history, and the cultural landscapes we hold sacred.

Many of our partners across the state and country are expressing their deep concerns, from the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Colorado Preservation, Inc. – whose message below offers action steps so you can stand up for Colorado’s historic places.

Learn more at our upcoming webinar about Section 106 of the NHPA on October 26, 2026 at 3:00 pm at: https://www.historycolorado.org/events-experiences =section-106-in-colorado-your-seat-at-the-table;instance=20261026150000?popup=1&lang=en-US

Stand with us Friday, October 30, at 7:30 a.m. at the Tall Bull Memorial Grounds in Daniels Park for a statewide advocacy photograph. 📸

This gathering is part of CPI’s No Seat at the Table campaign. Proposed changes to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act from the ACHP, along with U.S. Senate Bill 5653, could cut Coloradans out of federal decisions that affect our public lands, neighborhoods, and historic places. The Senate vote is scheduled for November 9.

The photograph will bring Coloradans together to demonstrate what is at stake when communities lose their voice in federal decisions affecting their lands, historic resources, and future. It will serve as the centerpiece of a statewide campaign encouraging public awareness and engagement.

How you can help:

📅 Arrive by 7:30 a.m. and wear attire that reflects your community. We expect to wrap up in an hour or less.
👥 Bring a friend. Our goal is 100 people.
📞 Call your U.S. Senators TODAY. Tell them to vote no on U.S. Senate Bill 5653. Colorado’s Senators are Michael Bennet (303-455-7600) and John Hickenlooper (303-244-1628)

RSVP and sign the waiver at this link: https://forms.gle/1ZkdjkUQ6jpa9i7E7

10/14/2026

Don't forget to RSVP for this free presentation and book signing with Ambassador Ken Salazar. Featuring his new book, Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America 🇺🇸

Saturday, October 17th
12 - 1:30 PM
El Pueblo History Museum
RSVP: https://mailchi.mp/kensalazar/1u9odrkcna

In his book Borderlands, Ken asks us to consider: What does it mean to be a US citizen? In a nation of immigrants, who counts as American? How do we catalyze a movement to preserve and strengthen our democracy—one that recognizes the richness of American diversity as our nation’s enduring strength? Ken will discuss a new vision for North America and the Americas as the United States, Mexico, and Canada strive to achieve greater economic prosperity and shared national security. This vision is an alternative to the path on which we currently find ourselves. His message is a clarion call to action for a different way forward, one that unites North America instead of divides it.
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Photo courtesy of Ken Salazar.

10/14/2026

Last week, Colorado observed the 6th annual Cabrini Day as an alternative to commemorating Columbus Day. It’s one of a handful of states that no longer recognize the holiday even though it originated here.

Once a celebrated figure, particularly for Italian Americans, the legacy of Christopher Columbus is shifting to acknowledge that he was an enslaver, and that his legacy is intertwined with the racism and cruelty of colonialism. Take the Columbus statue in Pueblo, for example. The debate over whether or not to keep it has divided the town for years.

In this archival episode of Lost Highways, we look at how community identities have been formed around historical heroes, and what happens to those communities when the actual history of those heroes catches up with what they’ve come to symbolize. Listen to it wherever you find your podcasts or at: https://www.historycolorado.org/lost-highways/2024/06/27/how-do-you-solve-problem-columbus

10/12/2026

Sign up for an incredible pastel painting workshop led by celebrated Chicano artist Tony Ortega!

📅 Saturday, October 24, 2026
🕚 11:00am - 2:00pm
📍 El Pueblo History Museum

Get Tickets: https://tickets-elpueblo.historycolorado.org/event/days-of-the-dead-tony-ortega-pastel-painting-class/tickets

Tony Ortega is a professor of painting, drawing, and art history at Regis University in Denver. He will share his lifelong passion of art in this pastel painting workshop that will connect you with the cultural tradition of Día de los Mu***os. Space is limited, so purchase your ticket today!

Plus, see the new exhibition, Days of the Dead: Aztec Adventures of Cholo, Vato, and Pano where Aztec heritage, ancestral memory, and community love are vividly captured through the art of Tony Ortega.