Healy House and Dexter Cabin show Leadville's Victorian boom up close

To see how people actually lived during Leadville’s silver boom, two preserved homes sit close together near the historic core: the Healy House and the Dexter Cabin. Both are operated by History Colorado, the state’s history agency, which keeps them as small museums.

The Healy House is a restored home from the late 1870s, furnished in the lavish Victorian style of the era and later used for years as a boarding house and social hub. Next to it stands the Dexter Cabin, a log cabin built in 1879 that is far more refined inside than its rough exterior suggests, the in-town retreat of one of Colorado’s early mining fortunes.

For a newcomer, these sites add a human scale to the bigger mining story. Instead of headframes and ore, you see parlors, furnishings, and daily life, both the wealth at the top and the work that kept a boom town running. They pair naturally with a walk through the historic district outside.

Hours and admission run on a seasonal schedule and can change, so plan before you visit. For visitor details and the history of both buildings, start with History Colorado’s page for the Healy House Museum and Dexter Cabin.