Museo de las Tres Colonias 425 10th St . Fort Collins , Colorado 80524

 

  REGULAR MUSEO HOURS: 12:30 to 3 p.m. on the third Saturday each month.

About the Museo The Museo de las Tres Colonias conveys, through use of oral histories, the story of early twentieth-century Hispanic pioneers who carved out a rich life in the Fort Collins area while working in the sugar-beet industry. Those who came sought the promise of a better life in Northern Colorado . In 1927, John B. Romero began building an adobe home in Andersonville that would serve his family for 75 years. Situated near the Great Western Sugar Company factory, the house has been restored to interpret the early history of the three Spanish colonies –– Andersonville , Alta Vista, and Buckingham –– or tres colonias –– that surrounded the sugar-beet factory.

Beginning in 1927, John B. Romero built the first two rooms of his family’s adobe home at 425 10^th St. , in Andersonville near Fort Collins . As the family grew, so did the house. He and his wife, Inez Rivera Romero, enlarged the adobe structure to four rooms in 1935, and members of the Romero family occupied this home until 2001.

The Romeros were one of many Hispanic pioneer families who moved from northern New Mexico to the Fort Collins area in the early 1920s to build a better life for themselves. One of the interpretive themes at the Museo explains the difficulty Hispanic families encountered as a result of prejudice and economic hardship, especially during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the subsequent decline of the sugar-beet industry in Northern Colorado .

So that this story about the impact of the sugar-beet industry on the people who lived in the tres colonias would not be lost, Mark Goldberg of Fort Collins Partners I, L.L.C., purchased the property from the Romero family in 2001. In 2002, ownership was transferred to the City of Fort Collins . In partnership with the city, the Poudre Landmarks Foundation and the newly formed auxiliary, the Amigos del Museo de las Tres Colonias, managed restoration of the adobe home. A grant from the State Historical Fund enabled construction work to begin in 2003. The Museo de las Tres Colonias –– named to honor the three Hispanic colonias of Andersonville , Alta Vista, and Buckingham –– opened in September 2006.

The purpose of the Museo is fourfold. First, the adobe historic house museum helps interpret family life in the tres colonias between 1927 and 1940. Second, the Museo offers education programs about contributions made by the Hispanic community. Third, volunteers explain to visitors the significance of the sugar-beet industry to the Fort Collins community. And fourth, the Museo is the focal point for continuous celebration of Hispanic culture, and promotes tolerance, understanding, and social justice for all.

Designated as a Fort Collins Local Landmark in 2001, the former Romero family home now serves as a regional interpretive center that recognizes the contributions of the Hispanic community in achieving Northern Colorado ’s spectacular growth and development.

The Amigos received in 2007 the Fort Collins Historical Society Preservation Award, City of Fort Collins Friend of Preservation Award, and Colorado Preservation, Inc., State Honor Award for restoration work on the Romero House.

One of the most significant projects completed by the Amigos was to videotape interviews of Hispanic families from each of the tres colonias. “Memorias de las Tres Colonias,” is a film about work and family life that provides resource materials for current and future exhibits at the Museo.