Thursday, May 15, 2025
Please join us to hear Patric Ryan who will share his research information for why Nikola Tesla chose Colorado Springs CO. This Experimental Station, built in 1899 by the inventor for his study of the use of high-voltage, high-frequency electricity in wireless power transmission.
Patric is an author and historian writing the play and book series, Mark Twain and the War of Wizards. It is about Nikola Tesla’s rivalry with Thomas Edison and narrated by Mark Twain. Patric is a U.S. Army combat veteran with a Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia.
Patric dedicated the headstone for Lewis Latimer’s grave in September 2023. Lewis Latimer was Thomas Edison’s patent clerk. Lewis had been in an unmarked grave for the last 95 years. Patric and is currently working on marking the grave of Nikola Tesla’s assistant Kolman “Coleman” Czito. His grave has been located and has been unmarked for the last 95 years as well.
We hope you can join us for this special event. Please bring a friend or two and stay after the program for light refreshments and socializing. Newcomers to the area are welcome! Please join us!
Thursday, April 17, 2025
J.v.L. Bell “Women of the Colorado Gold Rush Era”
Explore the lives of four unforgettable women who called Colorado home during the turbulent years of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush.
Katrina Murat was one of Colorado’s first Anglo settlers. She was an adventurous spirit who lived in Palmer Lake at the end of her life.
Amache a Cheyenne woman, married an Anglo man and spent her life navigating between two cultures as she became a successful businesswoman.
Maria Dolores Ballejos an early Colorado pioneer settled in the San Luis Valley and spent her life fighting to retain the land she cultivated.
Clara Brown a former enslaved woman, became a successful business owner and was one of Colorado’s most beloved pioneers.
Please stay afterwards for light refreshments and socializing. The Palmer Lake Historical Society is an educational 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the Palmer Divide area since 1956.
+The Palmer Lake Historical Society is an educational 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the Palmer Divide area since 1956.
since 1956.
The Palmer Lake Historical Society is an educational 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the Palmer Divide area since 1956.
since 1956.
Thursday MARCH 20, 2025 “An Evening with General William Jackson Palmer”
General William Jackson Palmer and the Palmer Lake Historical Society request the honour of your company Thursday, March twentieth, twenty twenty five at seven o’clock until eight thirty in the evening,
Dave Harmon portrays General Palmer. Bring a friend and stay for light refreshments and socializing. Town Hall, 28 Valley Crescent Street, Palmer Lake, Colorado
7:00-8:30 at the Town Hall, Palmer Lake, CO
The Palmer Lake Historical Society will be hosting General William Jackson Palmer portrayed by Dave Harmon. General Palmer will share stories about his Quaker upbringing, the civil war and his contributions to the expansion of transportation in the American West during the late nineteenth century.
General Palmer is also well known for his philanthropy. Please bring a friend and stay afterwards for light refreshments and socializing. Program is FREE and open to the public. All ages welcome.
The Palmer Lake Historical Society is an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the Palmer Divide area since 1956. We welcome newcomers to the area. In case of inclement weather, and follow school district 38 weather closures.
CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER 2/20/25
“Donald G. Stratton USS ARIZONA SURVIVOR”
Presented by his granddaughter, Nikki Stratton
WHEN: Thursday, FEBRUARY 20, 2025
7:00 PM — 8:30 PM (Doors open at 6:30)
WHERE: Palmer Lake Town Hall 28 Valley Crescent Street Free and Open to the Public
Please join us for this special event. Nikki Stratton will share the powerful story of her grandfather, Donald Stratton, whose courage and determination have inspired generations. A survivor of the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor, he defied unimaginable odds to ensure his story—and those of his shipmates— would never be forgotten.
In case of inclement weather, we follow School District 38 weather closures so everyone can be safe. The Palmer Lake Historical Society is an educational 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the Palmer Divide area since 1956.
FREE and open to the public. All ages welcome. Bring a friend or two and stay afterwards for light refreshments and socializing.
Museum
New Musuem Exhibits
Bakelite Radios of the 1930s and 1940s - the Golden Age We are hosting a wide variety of radios from the earliest spark receivers of Marconi's era to the art [...]
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 by Marion S. Sabin
This edition is truly the Best Book About the Remarkable History of the Town of Palmer Lake.
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.
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.
