Castle Rock Museum
Chug…chug… into the Castle Rock Museum
Article and photos by Liz Jurkowski
Originally the depot building for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, the Castle Rock Museum is located conveniently downtown.
One of the greatest museums you can go to with your family to spend an hour or so is the Castle Rock Museum. Less than a ten minute drive south, on the corner of 5th Street and Elbert Street in downtown Castle Rock, the museum is a fun little wonder very close to home.
A charming building which houses the museum is, as its website states, “a structure which by any account is its prime artifact.” Indeed, it is the old train depot building for Castle Rock, built in 1875 along the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. As the county seat of the then new Douglas County, Castle Rock became a stop on the railroad line between Denver and Colorado Springs.
Originally located alongside the train tracks on Third Street, the depot building was made from the locally-quarried rhyolite stone common in Colorado. In 1970, it was moved to its location on Elbert Street and was restored by the Castle Rock Historical Society to be used as a museum. The Castle Rock Museum opened in 1997 and is maintained and run by the Castle Rock Historical Society.
Within the museum, which is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from Noon until 5 p.m., you can see the original ticket window and baggage area. The museum has some permanent collections, but also houses temporary displays dealing with subjects that celebrate and provide information about the Castle Rock area.
More information about the Castle Rock Historical Society can be found by calling 303-814-3164 or by visiting the museum, located at 420 Elbert Street.
