Lafayette History Museum

Become a Member or Renew Membership

Would you like to become a member of the Lafayette Historical Society and receive our quarterly newsletter? Fill out the membership form (PDF) and return it to the museum. Don’t want to be billed annually for your membership? Consider a Lifetime Membership! Find out more about the Lafayette Historical Society and the Lafayette History Museum.

Membership Types
Individual ................... $20
Family ......................... $35
Business ................... $125
Life (Individual)......... $250

AmazonSmile Donations

Do you shop on Amazon? Have you heard of AmazonSmile? It is the same as visiting Amazon.com with one important difference: AmazonSmile donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.

The donation comes from the purchase price, so there are no additional fees or costs to you. It’s a completely free way for you to contribute to the museum while you’re shopping online.

In order to participate, go to smile.amazon.com and select the Lafayette Historical Society Inc. in Colorado as your non-profit to donate to and that’s it; they take care of the rest!

The Museum’s History

The Lewis Home, located at 108 E. Simpson St., became the Lafayette Miners Museum in August 1976. Built in the 1890s, the house was occupied by miners at the Gladstone Mine northeast of Lafayette. After the mine closed, the house was moved into town.

In December 1913, coal miner William E. Lewis and his family purchased the home from Oscar Padfield. (Padfield’s father had owned the Gladstone Mine.) The Lewis Home served as a meeting place for miners during a lengthy strike, which lasted until 1915. During that turbulent period, frequent gun fire would often force the Lewis family to sleep in a nearby cellar for safety.

William Lewis died in 1914, leaving his wife, Hannah, to rear their three children. Hannah Lewis continued to live in the house until her death in 1975 at the age of 95. In 1976, with the generous help of Elmo Lewis, the youngest of the children, the Lafayette Historical Society acquired the Lewis Home for the sole purpose of housing the Museum.

In September 2022, in keeping with its mission to showcase the sweep of Lafayette’s rich and varied history, the institution established in 1976 as the Lafayette Miners Museum will now be known as the Lafayette History Museum.

What the Museum Contains

The Museum contains a wealth of Lafayette history, from the early days of pioneer heritage, through the coal mining years and into the present. Visitors will view a broad collection of artifacts which includes a kitchen full of unusual household items used by Lafayette’s founding families, plus a tremendous collection of mining tools and equipment. In the "schoolroom" of the museum, the town’s educational heritage has been well preserved in pictures, trophies, and memorabilia. Current residents often enjoy searching for a "school days" picture of their parents or grandparents.

The Miners Museum received a Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museum (CWAM) grant in Summer 2019 to transform our porch into an early-learning space for children. The porch now includes a sensory table, where kids can "mine for coal," a mining train set, as well as other interactives. We also have a play table for coloring or storytime, complete with a few picture books about the history of Colorado and coal mining.

Online Collections Database

The museum is dedicated to getting artifact, photograph, archival, and library collections online so you can view them at home. Search the online collection

Object Donations

Do you have an object you would like to donate to the Museum?
Here is all you need to know about making a donation to the Lafayette History Museum: Museum Donor Packet (PDF)

Lafayette History Museum

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