Visit the Museum | Register for an Event | History at Home | Membership

The Sesquisemiquincentennial

As the Centennial state, Coloradans will be celebrating two anniversaries this year with the Sesquisemiquincentennial. This 7-syllable word combines the Semiquincentennial, or 250 year, anniversary of the Declaration of Independence as well as the Sesquicentennial, or 150 year, anniversary of Colorado’s statehood.

The Louisville Historical Museum will be participating with multiple First Fridays and other events centered around themes set by the America 250 - Colorado 150 Commission. This commission aims to have Coloradans across the state reflect on a shared past and envision a united future. The Museum’s new “Moments that Made Us” exhibit will emphasize key moments in Colorado’s history. The Museum’s upcoming programs will commemorate city and state history in a national context, and we look forward to having new shared experiences in our community. To learn more about the Colorado 150 Commission and join in the fun, click the button below!

Museum First Friday: Freedom of the Press

Throughout 2026, the Museum will be exploring the founding values of our nation in recognition of the US 250/CO 150 anniversary celebrations. Join us at this First Friday to learn about the significance of the freedom of the press in our nation and here in Louisville! Discover how Americans and Louisville residents of the past have exercised this important right by establishing newspapers and circulating opinions and ideas. Make your own voice heard by viewing and learning how to write with historic typewriters!

History Happy Hour: The Memory of Place with Amy Haines

Historian Amy Haines will lead a community discussion about the ways that places hold memories and the way our memories hold places. She’ll share ideas about how urban landscapes can be considered places of public and private history and offer suggestions on ways we can think about how our own perceptions of place can be interpreted. Grab a drink and listen to this talk at Louisville Underground, the former location of a very special place in Louisville history, the Blue Parrot!

Summer Preschool Program: Growing Things

This event is the first in a preschool series utilizing the power of nature play to learn about outdoor history in Louisville. Explore gardening, plant your own seedling, decorate rocks for the garden and take home herbs and tomatoes for a homemade pizza! This program series combines structured play, unstructured nature play, story-time, and hands-on-crafts. Classes will run through August, attend one or many. Please ONLY register for children who are participating in the crafts. Accompanying adults, siblings, and babies do not need to register.

Walking Tour: Capitol Hill

Explore Louisville’s Capitol Hill neighborhood on this walking tour with Diane Marino! Capitol Hill showcases homes built in the early decades of the 20th century when Louisville was growing and downtown businesses were thriving. Business owners and community leaders moved their families into newer, larger, and more affluent homes that contrasted with smaller homes in neighborhoods of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. This tour uncovers the stories behind the homes, the families who resided in them, and their place in Louisville history.

Membership

Join or Renew Today!

We love our members! Members can renew online, via mail, or in person. As a reminder, if paying by check, please make your membership check out to the Louisville Historical Museum and remember to make any monetary donations separately to the Louisville History Foundation. Thank you for your support!

Not a member yet? Join today with the perfect membership type for you. The Historical Museum offers individual, family, and business memberships, as well as gift memberships so that you can give someone who loves Louisville and history full access to all that the Museum has to offer.

Museum members receive the Louisville Historian in the mail four times each year. You can also make a donation directly to the Louisville History Foundation to support the work the Museum does and special projects.

Thank You, Business Members

740 Front

Alternating Current Press
ARC Thrift Stores

Ariel IT Services
Atomic Forge
Berkelhammer Tree Experts, Inc.
Bolder Insurance
Coal Creek Collision Center
Cory Nickerson - 8z Real Estate
Creative Framing & Art Gallery
DAJ Design, Inc.
Deep End Solutions

E & L Team at RE/MAX Elevate

Ferguson's Family Plumbing and Drain

Fingerplay Studios

Gstalder Louisville Law Group

Hofgard & Associates, P.C.
Louisville Cyclery
Louisville Tire & Auto Care

Moxie Bread Co.
Origin CPA Group
Paul's Coffee & Tea
Pine Street Plaza

Pink House Co.

Premier Members Credit Union
Seward Mechanical Systems
Society of Italian Americans
Stewart Architecture
Ters Family Dentistry
The Singing Cook

Historic Photo Feature

In the summer of 1952, Robert Bowes, Jr. and Ruth Bowes picnicked in the shade of pear and apple trees with their friends and family. The orchard in bloom was the setting of multiple weddings, parties, and yearly celebrations. Their son, Jack Bowes, recalled that his grandmother was the one who started an orchard. Ann Bowes was born in northern England, and she and Robert, Sr. moved to Louisville as newlyweds in 1880. Jack believed that the lush, green trees reminded her of home among the prairie grass. Ann drove a horse-pulled wagon about a mile to Coal Creek and back to water her apple saplings.

Originally immigrating to Colorado for coal mining, the Bowes family pivoted to farming and ranching. Robert, Sr. would walk to the Simpson Mine in Lafayette and return to his homestead off Dillon Road on the weekend. One of his sons, John Thomas Bowes, was noted in his 1936 obituary as “one of the best-known farmers” around Louisville. The family grew crops like corn, wheat, and oats, and they also raised cows, pigs, and chickens. As children, Jack and his sister, Sue, helped Ruth gather and wash eggs to sell at the local grocery store.

Notably, Bertha Bowes, John’s wife of twenty-six years, was a centenarian and lived until the age of 101. Bertha enjoyed tending her garden in the spring and harvesting pumpkins for pies in the fall. However, her fondest memories were of her evenings spent chatting with John after a long workday. 

This May, make sure to get outside and see the flowering trees. Louisville has been recognized by the Arbor Day foundation as a Tree City for raising awareness about the value of community trees. The Louisville Forestry Division cares for over 10,000 trees throughout the city, and any visitor is sure to find a shady spot to picnic like the Bowes family.