Palmer Lake Society
In 1956 a group of residents recommended that a manuscript detailing the founding of Palmer Lake, Monument, and the surrounding Tri-Lakes region be published. To accomplish this, they also recommended that a historical society be formed to continue the preservation of the area’s history. That is how the Palmer Lake Historical Society was formed.
Today the society maintains the Lucretia Vaile Museum in Palmer Lake to preserve the records and artifacts of the Palmer Divide. The society also organizes free events for the community and supports the publication materials on local history.
Upcoming Events
Vaile Museum Updates
Historical Notes from Jack Anthony
CURRENT MUSEUM EXHIBITS
The Lucretia Vaile Museum is hosting a display of radios from the earliest spark receivers of Marconi's era to the art deco Bakelite radios of the 1930s and 1940s. The [...]
In November 1893, the Colorado state legislature approved a bill extending voting rights to women, twenty-seven years before the 19th Amendment extended suffrage to women across the nation. With the [...]
A salute to our local area firefighters. This display is a hands-on experience where a firefighter's outfit and helmet can be tried on and worn. Hoses, nozzles, axes, tools and [...]
FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
Palmer Lake A Historical Narrative
This 148 page book tells the story of the Town of Palmer Lake, Colorado, from before its beginning until about 1989 which was the centennial of the incorporation of the Town. Sabin did extensive research, and her work is well documented with cross-references. The history of Palmer Lake closely parallels the early development of the Denver & Rio Grande and Santa Fe Railroads. The rise and fall of railroad passenger service and the new automobile changed the town in many ways.
The book is extensively illustrated with over seventy-five new or re-scanned photographs and illustrations. The person index now covers all chapters in the book. Where known, facts that were in error have been researched and corrected.
This edition is truly “The Best Book About the Remarkable History of the Town of Palmer Lake.”
Pine Crest: From Columbine Park to a Methodist Camp, 1897-1973
The Palmer Lake Historical Society presents Occasional Paper No. 5 Pine Crest: From Columbine Park to a Methodist Camp, 1897-1973, written by Daniel W. Edwards and published August 2020.
This 52-page, spiral-bound publication is illustrated throughout with black and white photographs and draws extensively on the historical materials held in the archives of the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. The essay traces the history of the park from its development in 1897 as a small recreational site, through its development and later sale to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and ends with the Methodist church’s sale of the property in 1973.
