This place was amazing! At $11 for a family of 7, it's an incredible value. There are several buildings, beginning with the original building built by the WPA in the 30's, with a large fireplace with local petrified wood. Most of that building has original displays, like a hand-painted & -lettered display about the geological history of the area made in the 1940's, and dioramas about cattle ranching. This building also houses Native American artifacts like arrowheads and katchina dolls. The next building (attached) proceeds past the ancient and pioneer history to the early days of Sterling. Another attached building takes us to 1900's history, up through the 1950's. My favorite was the recreation of the WPA art that was originally to be on the front of the building - sketches found tucked in a closet a few years ago by Harold Keeler and painted in 2025 by local artist Nate Laybourn. So excellently done and so exciting to find! Outdoors you'll find pioneer buildings like an old schoolhouse, barber shop, blacksmith shop, church, etc. as well as an old caboose. Our family loved this museum so much, we came two days in a row to see it all! Friendly staff and clean restrooms throughout as well as great AC for these hot summer days. read more

Overland Trail Museum - Original newspaper article about Lincoln's assassination. - Museums Near Me - Sterling, Colorado

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Stopped in today with my husband and 3 daughters for a place to stretch our legs coming from Michigan on our way to RMNP. It's was way better than expected! My 3 and 5 year olds both said how much fun they were having and didn't want to leave. We were on a tight time schedule so we only ended up spending about 2 hours there but we could've stayed a lot longer! Lots to see and do! read more

Before starting my journey down the Pawnee Pioneer Trail, I thought I'd stop in at the Overland Trail Museum and see just what I might be getting myself into. I figured that the museum would be about house sized, a couple small exhibits, maybe some donated collections of things. I couldn't have been more wrong. The Overland Trail Museum is a pretty good size. What's more, it's packed to the gills with just about everything that you could possibly document about prairie, plains, and settler life in Colorado in the 1800s and 1900s. The main house has several rooms, carrying diverse collections, from Indian artifacts and relics to dolls and music of the settlers, to typical clothes worn and books read. The adjoining building has an interesting display on how electricity was brought to rural America as part of the New Deal, and a fascinating section of bits and pieces of Colorado history donated by locals, all of which have stories. The one about how Colorado was once in the grip of the Klu Klux Klan during the 1920s was particularly chilling. Beyond the main buildings, the museum also has practically an entire village out back - houses and buildings that are period-accurate, and full of display items that really give a feel of what life might have been like. The one-room school house and the general store in particular are great examples. If I had more time I probably would have explored more in depth, but even so I still managed to spend an hour here and get the gist of things. Definitely a great museum, and perfect for anyone who wants to know more about early life in the plains of Colorado. Probably really great for school assignments too, I would imagine. The $3 entry fee is a pittance. read more

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Interesting and many unique items. Would recommend anyone go, especially for the $5 price of admission. Well worth a couple of hours of your time. read more

We stopped in to this museum to kill some time while our hotel room was being prepared. It was really cool! My eight-year-old son said it was most interesting thing all day and we had gone to the wildlife sanctuary that morning. We enjoyed the interesting and quirky history displays. They had great air-conditioning in the main museum. They had a really big grounds area with lots of different historic buildings to check out. I would highly recommend checking out the place. There is even a two headed Calf taxidermy in the barn! read more

This is a must see , for a museum on the plains of Colorado off the beaten path I was pleasantly surprised! Take a tour it won't be quick because they have so much to see . read more

We were driving along route 76 on our way to Denver and came upon this museum. There is a varied collection of indoor and outdoor exhibitions depicting life in the surrounding communities. Too many to mention here but we highly recommend stopping and allow at least 2 hours read more

Nice rest area off of I76 in eastern Colorado. You can get out and stretch your legs and the restrooms are clean.

Great museum! They have a wide display of different buildings, items, vehicles, and activities showing the history of Sterling. Very clean environment and a lot of fun things to view (a two headed calf!). read more

We came for the Christmas light special they had this week. Free apple cider and cookies, as well as roasted chest nuts and a fire pit. All the exhibits were also open. Lots of cool stuff and a very friendly staff! read more

Excellent small museum with lots of exhibits related to the history of Sterling. Staff was very helpful in answering my questions. A pleasant place to spend 1-2 hours. read more