November 2010

The Bead Museum serves the public through exhibitions and programs designed to heighten awareness of peoples' ideas about themselves and their world through the study of beads. Used all over the world, these small, perforated objects speak of ancient links with people, places, and diverse community expressions.

This unique museum was founded by Gabrielle Liese and houses an international collection of over 100,000 beads and beaded artifacts. The museum features permanent and changing exhibitions, and education and outreach programs of lectures, tours, and classes for the visitor.

The Branigan Cultural Center is comprised of several small galleries and the larger Shannon Room, which is a temporary exhibition gallery and performance hall. Permanent and changing exhibitions and educational programming provide insight into the region’s interesting past and lively present.

The Moore-Ward house was built soon after the town of Artesia was founded, in 1904. The unusual cobblestone façade was placed by hand as part of the original construction, using stones from the nearby Penasco River that were hauled in on wagons. The stones were set in concrete starting from the bottom up—a couple of rows were laid at a time and then allowed to dry before the next rows were laid. The whole process took nearly two years, and no, we don’t know exactly how many stones were used! The house is on the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places, and has housed the Museum since 1970.

One of their earliest actions was to create the means for documenting the past and recording contemporary events as they unfolded. This became the Arizona Historical Society, formed to collect and preserve “all facts relating to the history of this Territory.”

Originally serving as Spain's seat of government in the present day American Southwest during the 17th century, the Palace of the Governors has survived and is now home to the history of the city of Santa Fe, all of New Mexico and the entire southwest. The palace was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and an American Treasure in 1999. Exhibits open to the public include artifacts found throughout New Mexico's history, including hide paintings, a 19th century desk, and a state seal made of recycled hardware. 

The collections consist of more that 15,000 objects and rotating exhibitions. Current displays include 'Treasures of Devotion,' highlighting the influence of the southwest region on religious artwork and a working exhibit of 19th and 20th century printing equipment and techniques still used to produce items such as books and cards.

An exhibition of local history depicts four hundred years of the history of Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Valley region. Look over early maps, arms and armor and weaving. Learn about trade routes, colonial life and statehood-era relics.

Twelve miles north stands Casa San Ysidroa, a restored early 19th-century adobe house, built by the merchant-farmer Gutiérrez family in 1875 and containing one of the most extensive collections of 17th-century Spanish Colonial furnishings, fine art, and agricultural artifacts in the state.

More than 20 exhibits tell Arizona's story from territorial days to the present.

Originally constructed as a Spanish fortified plaza ringed by low adobe buildings, the town grew beyond its original defensive walls and became an important center for trade on the Santa Fe Trail. Taos continued to expand in the late 19th century when artists settled in and around the plaza. This led to a cultural revival for which Taos is still well known. Today, aspects of each of its periods of history are evident in the Downtown Historic District.

San Francisco de Asís Mission Church, c. 1772, is one of the best known and most photographed churches in New Mexico. The Spanish Colonial adobe building has twin bell towers and an arched portal entrance that overlooks an enclosed courtyard. The interior has a large carved reredos (altar screen) divided into painted panels, a ceiling of vigas (beams) that rest on elaborately carved double brackets and a traditional choir loft. San Francisco de Asís Mission is an active parish.

The Wyoming Historical Society was formally founded on November 12, 1981. Although its roots go back to the first Wyoming Historic House Tour, organized by Katie Stonebarger Bond (Mrs. Henry Bond) for the Wyoming Centennial in 1974. The 1981 founding meeting was called by Annie Lou Helmsderfer at her home and was attended by nine Wyoming citizens including Jean Anderson, Jenni McCauley and Dorothy Schierenbeck. The society's purpose was defined as collecting and preserving historical materials and information and encouraging interest in Wyoming's heritage.