Unprecedented Evacuation of Artifacts from Hinsdale County Museum in Preparation for Area Flooding

Volunteers have been working around-the-clock since late last week, over the weekend, and continuing this week as historic collections and archival materials from Hinsdale County Museum are removed from the museum’s basement and ground-level floor, as well as items from the museum’s Transportation Building and Smith-Grantham House. Especially rare items such as the dollhouse allegedly made by Al Packer, other fragile artifacts deemed irreplaceable, and the entire museum archives have been trucked to secure, temperature-controlled storage units in Gunnison, provided by the City of Gunnison and Gunnison County.
Other collections from Hinsdale County Museum — vintage firefighting equipment, organs, pianos, furniture, and hundreds of boxes — have been taken to higher ground on the Ball Flats in a total of 10 portable storage units which Hinsdale County Historical Society has rented from Healdworks in Del Norte, Colorado. As each item or box was removed from the museum, it was inventoried and placed on a spreadsheet designating its contents and storage location in either Lake City or Gunnison.