Koshare Museum

In the 1930s, a small youth group from La Junta, Colorado, moved by curiosity, traveled the Southwest, visiting pueblos and reservations and meeting artists, with a purpose that was remarkable for their age: to learn directly from Native communities and support Native artists through purchases.  With money the group raised themselves, they acquired pottery, textiles, katsina carvings and other works intending to, one day, display these cultural pieces in a museum for their community.

That dream took physical shape after World War II.  Using salvaged materials from a dismantled air base, the boys helped construct a museum building that features what is still celebrated today as the largest self-supported log ceiling structure of its kind, 627 massive timbers spanning a sixty-foot room. On November 11, 1949, thousands of visitors attended the grand opening of the new Koshare Museum.  The building is now listed on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties.

For its opening the museum hosted an exhibition by Potawatomi artist Woodrow ”Woody” Crumbo, whose work deeply inspired the group.  While counting donated funds from the event, one youth proposed buying one of Crumbo’s painting. The painting they selected, “Eagle Dancer,” purchased in memory of Captain Dean Strain, one of the five members of the group lost in World War II, became the first artwork in what would grow into a formal collection of fine art.

From that moment on, museum proceeds from the donation box and soda machine, as well as community donations, were dedicated to collecting art.  The group traveled to Taos, Santa Fe, and beyond, meeting artists face to face and purchasing works directly from the creators.  Many of those artists became long-term friends of the museum, shaping both the collection’s character and its mission.

Today, the Koshare collection stands as one of the most fascinating youth-built art legacies in the country - a testament to determination, cultural curiosity, and the belief that art should be preserved, shared, and honored for generations to come.