The History of History: The Museum of Western Colorado
by D.A. Brockett
1884 Main Street, a year before the Pioneer Society was formed. Courtesy Loyd Files Research Library, MOWC
After hiking four days over a cobbled and sometimes grueling trail through lush foliage, Mike Perry and his fellow sojourners halted. Spread out before them lay Machu Picchu—the “Lost City of the Incas”—a pre-Columbian masterpiece perched on a mountain ridge in Peru. Weariness transformed into elation as the group stepped forward into an amazing adventure.
As executive director of the Museum of Western Colorado for over a decade, Mike and his experienced staff have helmed many expeditions into the mysterious past, both on the Western Slope and across continents.
Besides the local and world cultural tours, local portals into former times include Cross Orchards Historic Site, a living history farm situated on Patterson Road; Dinosaur Journey, an interactive marvel hailing from Fruita; and the Museum of the West, housed in the renovated C.D. Smith pharmaceutical warehouse in downtown Grand Junction. The second floor features the Loyd Files Research Library, where the discourse of our valley is lovingly guarded and shared by Michael Menard and his host of trained volunteers.
Capturing the valley’s history commenced in 1885, nearly four years after George Crawford established his town site. A group of twenty-five citizens formed the Pioneer Society, chaired by J. Armitage Hall. Their goal was to preserve the stories and details of how the valley grew. As the original members aged and died, their memories were retold in newspapers and by word-of-mouth, but in the 1950s, the thought occurred to some that an actual edifice was needed to permanently cache these chronicles.
In 1966, through the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce and School District 51, the unused Whitman Elementary School, on the northeast corner of 4th and Ute, was renovated into an air-conditioned museum and leased for an annual fee of $1. Opening day garnered a sizeable crowd.
Capt. Samuel A. Dulany Hunter was the first and only director of the Museum of Arts and Sciences. He and his wife, Mary, had ventured from Vernal, Utah, where the Dulany Hunter Foundation was involved in creating a dinosaur grouping at the Utah Field House of Natural History. He owned an extensive fluorescent mineral collection, which he transported to Grand Junction and showcased in the new museum’s “Dark Room.” Also displayed was a gallery of western art, a wildlife and bird exhibit, and an illustrated walk through pre-historic times. Sadly, within a year, the museum closed. Supporters persevered, and in 1968, the Historical Museum and Institute of Western Colorado permanently reopened.
In 1965 the new museum rented the Whitman School for $1 a year. This brochure was its first. Samuel A Dulany Hunter, first museum director,Used by permission, Uintah County Library Regional History Center
Besides
the array of interesting exhibits, the museum has collected unusual oddities.
Somewhere in the museum’s bowels lies the peg leg of outlaw killer, John
Foster; a century-old peach preserved in cloves; a board game of Grand Junction created during the Uranium boom;
and the enigmatic Apache mask rumored to be inhabited by an evil spirit.
Over
the years, museum storytellers and scientific detectives such as the illustrious
Dave Fishell and David Bailey, director of the Western Investigations Team, have
kept history alive and exciting.
The
museum’s longevity can be attributed to its dedicated directors. Whatever
challenges the museum encountered, each administrator utilized his or her
personality and talents to keep the ship afloat.
The current director, Mike Perry, has led the museum into the 21st Century. Growing up in Idaho and Utah, his childhood love of animals bemused his good-natured mother, who’d patiently tolerated his furry menagerie. Mike’s obsession segued into a college degree in ornithology. After graduation, he worked in a museum, and eventually became an acclaimed administrator of the Natural History State Museum in Vernal. His greatest achievement was establishing the life-sized dinosaur gardens at that museum.
Mike Perry in his office at the CD Smith wing of the Museum, 2010 CD Smith Wing, Museum of the West, 2010, photo courtesy Robyne Henderson
Mike’s
first stretch at Grand Junction’s museum was from 1984 to 1990.
During
that time, a suggestion by museum archivist, Judy Prosser, to promote the
extraordinary dinosaur discoveries near Fruita led to a visit from Chris Mays,
founder of Dinamation. Mays was enthralled with the area, and soon Dinosaur
Valley debuted on Main Street, becoming Dinamation’s first permanent display.
Mike Perry left in 1990 but returned as director in 2003. In between, he worked
closely with the Mexican government to facilitate dinosaur discoveries, an
endeavor that helped ignite a national passion and a 30 million dollar museum.
Today’s Museum of Western Colorado is a state-of-the-art facility, ensconced within the top 1% of the nation’s museums after recently receiving its 4th accreditation from the American Association of Museums.