Montrose's old railroad depot is now the county history museum

If you want the local story of the Uncompahgre Valley, the place to start is the old train depot in Montrose. The Denver & Rio Grande built it to serve passengers and freight when the railroad was the center of town life, and today it houses the Montrose County Historical Museum.

The building itself is part of the history. It is a Mission Revival style depot, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it sat at a busy junction. From here, one branch of the railroad ran south toward Ouray and the mining country by way of Ridgway, and another ran east toward Gunnison. Standing where the trains once loaded helps the rest of the valley’s story make sense.

Inside, a county historical museum tends to cover the things that built the place: farming and irrigation, the railroad, early settlers, pioneer tools and home life, and how the towns grew. It is a grounding stop for anyone new to the area who wants to understand why Montrose looks and works the way it does.

Hours and seasons for a small museum can change, so it is worth checking before a visit. History Colorado lists the depot and museum, and the museum is run locally by the county historical society.