Overland Trail Museum

The Museum is named after the Overland Trail stage route, a branch of the Oregon Trail. The Overland Trail followed the south bank of the South Platte River through northeastern Colorado. History suggests that the Overland Trail was America’s heaviest-traveled road, maybe even in the world, between 1862 and 1868. The Museum was opened in 1936 and was a project of the WPA. The original building (now the front lobby) is made from native rock and designed after the early trading forts. 

The village behind the main Museum has several buildings dating pre-1915, including the Stoney Buttes one-room schoolhouse, the Evangelical Lutheran Concordia Church, the Dailey Cash Store, a granary barn (which houses a fine collection of branding irons, saddles, and other farm and ranch equipment) and a replica Barbershop. Beyond the village, visitors can visit the stone block O’Connell House, the 1930s-era Conoco filling station, the Karg Barn, a Caboose, Boxcar Depot, and the Print Shop/Media Center. 

Plan Your Trip

Hours of Operation

Summer: April 1 - October 31
Monday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM 
Closed on Sundays (Open Summer Holidays, Memorial Day, and 4th of July.)

Winter: November 1 – March 31
Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Closed Sundays, Mondays, and Holidays.