The Murdock Building in Eads is a county-owned landmark with a Sand Creek story

In downtown Eads, the Murdock Building is one of the older commercial buildings in Kiowa County, and over the years it has held many businesses that mattered to the town. Today it is owned by the county, which has worked to keep it standing and useful rather than let it fade.

What makes it worth knowing about is its second life. The building has served as a senior citizens’ center, and it has housed National Park Service office and welcome-center space connected to the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, which sits well outside of town. That means a single old storefront in Eads can be both a gathering place for neighbors and a starting point for visitors trying to understand a hard chapter of history.

It is a good window into how preservation works out here. Small plains towns do not have many large public buildings, so the ones they save tend to do double and triple duty. The Murdock Building is a fine example of how that care is practical as well as sentimental.

Planning a visit is easy if you check ahead, since uses, hours, and visitor services do change over time. For the building’s own history, History Colorado is a great place to start, and for current Sand Creek visitor services and directions, the National Park Service has the latest details.