Summary
Organization name
Lyons Historical Society
1973
Tax id (EIN)
84-0767205
Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Organization Size
Small Organization
Address
PO BOX 9LYONS, CO 80540
Lyons, CO, US
CO, US
Boulder, CO, US
About
Custom Tab
Admission to the Lyons Redstone Museum is free, making it accessible to everyone. The Lyons Historical Society relies entirely on donations, grants, gift shop sales, and fund raisers to fund its operations. Your donations enable us to fulfill our mission and are greatly appreciated.
Mission
To discover and collect any material which may help to establish or illustrate the history of the Lyons area: its exploration, settlement, development, and activities.
Background Statement
The Lyons Historical Society was formed in 1973 with the intent to save the Lyons Depot building from being sold and moved out of town. In conjunction with the Town of Lyons the building was purchased, restored, and operated as the Lyons Depot Library until it was damaged in the 2013 flood. The building was again restored and is the current location of the Boulder County Police Substation.
In 1976 the Society took on saving the original 1881 Lyons School, owned by the St. Vrain Valley School District, from being demolished. New life was given to the building through a three way lease between the district, the Town of Lyons, and the Lyons Historical Society who opened the Lyons Redstone Museum in the former schoolhouse to the public in 1979.
In 1980 the Society worked to create the Lyons Historic District and subsequent walking tour of fifteen historically significant sandstone buildings in Lyons. Each of the buildings in the district, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was constructed using locally quarried sandstone and has a unique history.
Since 2017, all students from Lyons Elementary School, located next to the museum, visit and engage in grade level activities during the school year, some grades making multiple visits. Our educational programming staff member is the school’s media specialist and works with teachers to develop programming in-line with District curricula making history come alive for these children. The fourth graders are our “museum stewards” who throughout the school year become familiar with our collections and content related to people, events, and objects connected to Lyons’ history. Their goal is to create museum enhancement projects of interest to children.
As the repository for and caretaker of Lyons history the Redstone Museum actively curates its history, maintains an extensive genealogy and history archive for research purposes, develops engaging programming, and continues to create new displays and exhibits highlighting the area’s history.
Media gallery
Organization Data
LYONS, CO 80540