NOV 2025 Press Release HISTORY TALK - Curtis Martin

For Immediate Release
Date: October 31, 2025

MEDIA CONTACT:
JoAnn Rasmussen  
Palisade Historical Society      
970-812-3064 | info@historicpalisade.org

PALISADE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PROGRAM
Curtis Martin Presents “Colorado in 1876:
A Tale of Two States”
Thursday, November 13 - 6 p.m. at The Ordinary Fellow Winery

PALISADE CO (October 30, 2025) – Leading up to celebration of the United States marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and Colorado  marking the 150th anniversary of our entrance into the Union in 1876, the Palisade  Historical Society’s November history talk will be local award-winning archaeologist Curtis Martin who will tell us what the world was like for folks living in the state and working and building vibrant lives in the Grand Valley and elsewhere in 1876.
 
There weren’t many folks of European ancestry here to celebrate the 4th of July, or the  1st of August 1876, when Colorado officially became the 38th state in the union, as the  era of Spanish exploration and the Fort Uncompahgre trading post had come and gone  by then. However, although the orchards and vineyards of Palisade and Grand Junction  would have to wait a few years to become reality, wonderous new things were coming  into the lives of the Ute Indians with the arrival of European trade goods and horses.  Curtis will describe what the world was like for people, here and there, in those times,  including envisioning life at Riverbend Park in 1876. The talk will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 13th at the Ordinary Fellow Winery, 202 Peach Avenue in  Palisade.
 
Curtis was awarded B.A and M.A. degrees in Anthropology from the University of  Colorado. He has worked as an archaeologist for the Colorado Highway Department,  the Museum of Northern Arizona, and management firms throughout the West. He also directed projects at Mesa Verde and Rocky Mountain National Parks, the Escalante Site, Lowry Ruins, Colorado National Monument, and Canyons of the Ancients.
 
Copies of Curtis’ book Ephemeral Bounty Wickiups, Trade Goods and the Final Years  of the Autonomous Ute published in 2016, will be available for donation and Curtis will  be happy to sign one for you.

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NOV 13  - PALISADE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PROGRAM – Page 2

The Historical Society’s website: www.historicpalisade.org, Facebook page: Palisade Historical Society, and the Ordinary Fellow Winery’s social media will include information about dates and topics of future history talks.

You can also visit the Palisade History Museum at 3740 G Road four days a week to learn about Palisade’s unique history. It is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Admission is free, and donations are appreciated. Those wanting more information about the Palisade Historical Society are encouraged to visit www.historicpalisade.org or call 970-812-3064.

LINK: www.historicpalisade.org

ABOUT THE PALISADE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Palisade Historical Society was incorporated in March 2010 and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to collect, preserve, and communicate the unique history of Palisade, Colorado, and to foster, encourage, stimulate, and develop public appreciation of this history. Palisade’s first History Museum opened in August 2021. In the almost four years since then, more than 2,400 visitors have come to learn about Palisade history from the interesting displays. In 2024, another 550 people attended history talk programs at the Ordinary Fellow Winery.

The Historical Society has published booklets with photos and information about the history of coal mining, irrigation, railroads, and fruit and wine in Palisade. The Historic Palisade Coloring Book is used in local elementary schools, and the coal mining and irrigation booklets are used as textbooks at Palisade High School science classes. The booklets and other publications from local authors are available at the Palisade History Museum 3740 G Road – near Elberta and Highway 6 on the north frontage road.

The Historical Society creates/presents historical programs, videos, and displays, and offers guided walking tours of historic downtown Palisade. It also has collected oral histories of long-time Palisade residents in video and written summary formats available on its website.

As stewards of The Palisade Tribune, the newspaper of record from 1903 until it ceased publishing in March 2014, the Historical Society has archived copies and digitized 4,617 issues – from June 1903 to December 1995, with more on the way – which are available online in the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection database for free research by students, teachers, genealogists, historians, and everyone.

If you want to volunteer at the Palisade History Museum, or need more information about the Palisade Historical Society, visit www.historicpalisade.org or call
(970) 812-3064.

On Facebook, look for the Palisade Historical Society
On Instagram, look for @HistoricPalisadeCO