The grand opening for our new Apishapa Valley Heritage Center was a great success. A general history and a photo display will be maintained for public view at our new Apishapa Valley Heritage Center. A collection of old bottles found in the area, and archeological items (such as metates, manos, and hammerstones) found in the area are on display. There will be old newspaper articles with local news, ledgers from businesses from as early as 1908, old school memorabilia, and much more. A recently added collection of family photos on loan from the Kelloff family is the latest addition. The Kelloff family once owned the Ute Theatre in Aguilar and the photos were all taken on Main St. offering us a view of many of the store fronts no longer in existence. Many of us remember the bargain movies & popcorn available at the Ute Theatre as we kept up with "serial" favorites such as Ma & Pa Kettle.

If you have anything you think would be of interest for our museum please contact us at this website. Also if you can help us man this new center contact us. Our hours will be 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays thru the rest of summer. The hours were shortened as we need volunteers! Admission is free but donations are welcome.

Our mailing address is:
AVHS, PO Box 459,
Aguilar CO 81020

or call 719-941-4678 for more information.

We have already started work on our 2009 historic calendar which will feature "pioneer families" in the area. We will continue to talk to and encourage our senior citizens to tell their family stories so that these fascinating stories may be documented and recorded. This calendar is one way to document these families for their contributions to our local history. If you have or know someone who might have a unique photo of a pioneer family of the Apishapa Valley area, we would love to include it in our next historical calendar.

There is still a limited quantity left of our 2008 historic calendar featuring twelve historic mining photos taken in the area. We think that this one is our best yet as it has been very popular. To date our first historical calendar in 2005 contained twelve photos of historic buildings in the area including the First State Bank of Aguilar when it was open, the Baudino Livery Stable, and the Aguilar Hospital and Clinic. Our 2006 calendar featured school buildings and classes in the Apishapa Valley area , including the Aguilar Elementary and High School demolished in 2005. Our 2007 calendar featured "Things to do While Growing up in the Apishapa Valley" with a favorite photo of decorated bicycles in the annual homecoming parade.

We would like to thank those of you who have supported our organization in the past and look forward to meeting new supporters at our upcoming fundraisers. Look for our annual Chili Dinner, a popular fundraiser. This year the highly anticipated Aguilar Days Weekend was restructured and renamed "Aguilar Fest", which began with a parade on Sat. July 19th . This event will benefit the Aguilar Fest Scholarship Program for next year. Our parade entry, we are proud to report, won first place.=20

Look for our "information tourist brochure" at the Trinidad Welcome Center or Aguilar's City Hall, and our "Heritage Center" on Main St. The drive through Aguilar's Main Street, west on Gulnare Road CR43.7 and on to Cordova Pass, was designated as part of the Scenic Highway of Legends in the Colorado State and Historic Byway program in 2002, but we feel that the beautiful Apishapa Valley drive and the Town of Aguilar has not been given it's fair share of attention.

The final report of the cultural resource survey project for the Town of Aguilar, funded by the State Historical Society SHF, is completed and is available for the public to view at the Aguilar Town Library or the heritage center located at 151 E. Main Street. This survey identifies the architectural and heritage resources that relate to the growth of the town. The ten properties selected include the Baudino Livery Stable, the St. Anthony's Catholic Church, the original adobe homes of the founder of Aguilar, Jose Ramon Aguilar, and the building that our new heritage center is located in.=20

THANK YOU FROM THE APISHAPA VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY