DEL NORTE—Rain clouds rolled east on the horizon Saturday morning as volunteers for the new Civil War exhibit at the Rio Grande County Museum set up a reenactment site on the lawn outside of the building in Del Norte. Volunteers dressed in Civil War era clothing and stood around a slow burning campfire while guests eager to see the new exhibit walked through the museum. The soldiers were present to tell tales of the Valley’s Civil War history and showcase historically accurate cooking techniques to share with the attending crowd.
According to museum director Louise Colville, “The story of the Civil War will be presented with a different point of view at the Rio Grande County Museum in Del Norte on May 20. Mikayla Baird, museum assistant and researcher, has approached this major part of American history by telling the family stories of the veterans who helped to build Del Norte, Monte Vista, South Fork and the surrounding farming communities in Rio Grande County. She will also give a talk on the Civil War with politics and other historic events.
This research project was started by museum volunteer Shirley Kernen, who compiled a list of names and grave markers in the Del Norte Cemetery. The next step was done last Veterans’ Day with Steve Nicolais, Alex Colville, and Louise Colville when Baird took them to the Del Norte Cemetery where they searched out and photographed the markers of the veterans that Kernen had found in her research.
To date, Baird has researched approximately 60-70 veterans from Rio Grande County. It has shown that Rio Grande County has a mixture of Union and Confederates and how once the war was over and the movement West had started, these men and their families came together and built our county. She found that at least two black soldiers lived and worked in Del Norte and one was an original “Buffalo Soldier.” These two men are buried in the Homelake Cemetery. This project will be ongoing as more veterans are found. Hopefully, the next step in the veterans’ project will be the Spanish American War and World War I. This phase of the project has been researched for the last six months and will continue.
The result of this research has led to families coming into the museum with their family stories of their ancestors. Museum staff hope to have more families want to share their important stories. Thanks to the newfound history, the museum can expand its ability to help with genealogy research.
The Veterans Center Museum at Homelake has also contributed to the work with the information that is provided on their website database. The findagrave.com website for Monte Vista, Del Norte and Homelake has given dates and other information that has been imperative in the project. Polly Cox and Rosalind Weaver have worked hard to keep up to date information on the site and are providing information from their personal family files.
Saturday’s event was well attended, with roughly 100 people coming to the museum throughout the day. Baird prepared a presentation that took place around 2 p.m. inside the museum and featured a detailed account of her research and findings over the course of the last several months.
The Civil War exhibit is only one of many the museum plans to showcase in the coming year. Next on the agenda, the museum will feature the Valley’s Swedish heritage and highlight Swede Lane homestead outside of Monte Vista on June 24. Be sure to keep up to date on new events and exhibits happening throughout the year by visiting www.riograndecounty.com/museum.