Lyons, Colorado - Lyons Redstone Museum

Lyons Redstone Museum

The museum started out as the town's school house, built in 1881. Grades one through eight were taught, and graduation certificates were handed out. It was the first major building constructed in town. It stands on a small hill, overlooking the town. It is used as a guidepost for people studying old photographs of Lyons. The original 30 x 40 foot building was made by expert stonemasons out of the local red sandstone. For the first few years, it was used for church services and town meetings. The population boomed and in 1895 there was a need to add a second floor. It was more for practical purposes and was not as beautifully designed. When the town built an elementary and high school, the school district decided to raze the building. The Lyons Historical Society fought for three years, and it was rewarded with use of a building to establish their history museum in.

The Lyons Redstone Museum is open June 1 to October 1, seven days a week. It was dedicated in 1979. It is free and open to the public on a donation basis. Its director is LaVern Johnson. The first floor has historic displays (including an old bank teller cage, re-created living room and kitchen area, quarry and small farm equipment, musical instruments, dairy equipment, and more). It has arrowhead and electric insulator collections. The first-floor work area contains the town's history archives (mainly newspaper clippings), video interviews and documentaries of its pioneer families, and a small gift and book shop. Books for sale include multiple history books of the area, and hundreds of used books from 1900 to today.

The second floor has some displays, (like ice cream parlor booths) but mainly it has dozens of archival black and white photographs of early Lyons, from 1880s to 1940s. Along the walls are all of the Lyons High School graduation photos, beginning in the 1930s. Since the 1881 building did not open as a museum until the 1970s, some of the records are incomplete regarding early town history; but it is extensively covered by the locally produced books and DVD documentaries. it is located at 412 High St, Lyons, Colorado 80540; (303) 823-5271.