Healy House Museum & Dexter Cabin

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Healy House Museum & Dexter Cabin

The 1878 Healy House looks over historic and scenic treasures of the mining town of Leadville. Get a glimpse of life in a booming silver mining camp.

The grounds include a garden and gazebo, and the Dexter Cabin built in 1879. The Healy House and Dexter Cabin is a Community Museum of History Colorado. While the Healy House is open, we ask that you please call for tour reservations. Tour the lavishly restored Victorian home, built by August Meyer for his bride, which later became a fashionable boarding house for Leadville teachers and railroad f

amilies. In addition, we invite you to visit the plush 1870s log cabin built by James Dexter, Colorado's first millionaire. Stroll through the heritage gardens or enjoy the magnificent views from the gazebo. This is Leadville's oldest museum.

06/10/2026

Don't miss this fascinating discussion, "Soiled Doves: The Working Women of Colorado's Boom Days"at Healy House on June 20, 4:00 - 5:30 PM!

Learn about the women of the Wild West who provided a certain companionship to the miners and other gentlemen who came seeking fortune during the Centennial State’s gold and silver rushes. From their day-to-day lives to their influence, join presenter Julie Blanda as she explores the importance of these women and their rightful place in Colorado’s history.

Get tickets: https://tickets-healyhouse.historycolorado.org/event/soiled-doves-presentation-june-20/tickets

Please note: This presentation is PG-13 and is not recommended for young children!

Guests are welcome to bring their own snacks and drinks to enjoy during the presentation. Coke, La Croix and water will also be available for purchase in the gift shop.

The event will take place in the garden (weather permitting), so be sure to dress accordingly. Garden chairs and benches will be available, but guests are welcome to bring their own camp chairs or blankets.

Parking is available in front of the museum on East 10th Street; overflow parking will be available on West 10th Street, across Harrison Avenue and above Ice Palace Park.

06/03/2026

Ida Stingley Newhouse lived at the peak of Gilded-Age and Edwardian society. A Jewish woman with a modest background, she defied the odds to reach an improbable level of social prominence while, at the same time, a broad current of antisemitism swept across Europe and the US. Her story begs the question, how did a boarding house waitress from Leadville become the darling of high society on both sides of the pond, charming King Edward VII and Denver socialite Louise Sneed Hill, only to vanish from the history books?

This Jewish American Heritage Month, The Colorado Magazine introduces you to the opulence of Ida’s life as the most famous hostess you’ve never heard of.
Read more: https://h-co.org/most-famous-hostess
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Image 1: This image of Ida appears to be part of the same series of photos captured by photographer Alice Hughes. A very similar portrait of Ida (same set but slightly different pose) attributed to Hughes was published in The Queen in 1904. Courtesy of National Library of Australia, Item PIC/21256/2376
Image 2: A reproduction of an oil painting of Ida Stingley Newhouse. Painted by Prince Pierre Troubetzkoy in 1908. Previously, this image had been incorrectly identified as a likeness of Louise Sneed Hill. History Colorado, 90.314.329
Image 3: The Newhouse Tunnel, the entrance to the Newhouse Mine in Colorado. History Colorado, 2000.129.814

06/02/2026

Come and see the new exhibition on view at Healy House! Winter Warriors: The 10th Mountain Division in World War II explores the history of the United States Army's first and only winter warfare division forged in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, where they trained for their crucial breakthrough against the N**i German Army in the mountains of Italy.

The US military built Camp Hale just outside of Leadville, the highest altitude city in the United States, because of its secluded and harsh mountain terrain. During Camp Hale’s construction and operations, Leadville was a bustling hub for soldiers – and those supporting them – to live, buy groceries, and seek entertainment. In this way, the tucked away town of Leadville played a crucial role in Colorado, US and world history.

05/21/2026

Like so many Colorado kids, I grew up outside—hiking, camping, fishing, and, most of all, skiing. Every weekend my family would head to Ski Cooper, our local hill, where I spent long days carving runs with my dad and warming up in the lodge. I remember wandering past old rucksacks and oversized skis mounted on the walls, and thinking how odd the small emblem of a panda on skis that appeared here and there was, without giving much thought to the history behind the slopes I loved.

That understanding came later. Ski Cooper—originally Cooper Hill—was once the training ground for the 10th Mountain Division, and the surrounding landscape I had spent years exploring held the remnants of Camp Hale. During World War II, Leadville and the nearby Pando Valley (hence the skiing panda!) became the center of a crucial chapter in American history. Soldiers trained here for high-altitude combat, while the local community supported the war effort in ways both visible and unseen.

That’s what makes the Winter Warriors: The 10th Mountain Division in World War II exhibition so meaningful to bring home. Opening Friday, May 22 at the Healy House Museum & Dexter Cabin, the exhibition shares the story of Camp Hale, the 10th Mountain Division, and the community that helped shape their legacy. Join us for the opening and experience this story where it began.

—Hannah Cary, Director of the Healy House Museum & Dexter Cabin
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Image of the Pando Valley, home to Camp Hale and training grounds for the famed 10th Mountain Division, around 1942–1945. History Colorado, 2023.142.5. Camp Hale Headquarters. Courtesy of Denver Public Library, Western History Collection. TMD711

05/14/2026

Adapted from the History Colorado Center's 2023-24 exhibit of the same name, Winter Warriors explores the history and legacy of the U.S. Army’s first and only winter warfare division ⛷️ and its connection to Leadville/Lake County. We're excited to bring this unique story to the Healy House Museum & Dexter Cabin, just in time for the America 250-Colorado 150 joint anniversary.

Come by for free open house reception on Friday afternoon, May 22nd, featuring brief remarks by Scott Adams, Colonel (Ret.) USAF and Ski Cooper Board of Directors vice chair, and a living history display in the garden presented by 10th Mountain Division Foundation Staff Historian David Little!

May 22nd | 4:30 PM - 7:00PM
RSVP at: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8838766/RSVP-for-Winter-Warriors-Opening-Reception

Plus, in celebration of the opening of the exhibit, 10th Mountain Division Foundation Staff Historian David Little will lead a very special guided tour of Camp Hale! The tour costs $15 for members or $20 for non-members. Learn more: https://www.historycolorado.org/healy-house-museum-dexter-cabin =winter-warriors-exploring-camp-hale;instance=20260523130000?popup=1&lang=en-US

05/06/2026

Come and see Victorian Spirits before it closes at Healy House Museum and Dexter Cabin!

Closing May 10 👻 This is your last weekend to explore the history of mourning, funerary practices, and spiritualism both nationally and in Leadville at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century (1880s-1920s).

What was Leadville's relationship to the occult and afterlife? How did that reflect the national interest in spiritualism at the time? Come by and see for yourself!

Open Friday - Sunday, 10 AM - 3 PM
Tours Held: 10 AM, 11:30 AM, 1 PM

05/01/2026

Don’t forget to make a visit Healy House during the All About Leadville weekend! ✨

We are offering special discounts on our gift shop full of vintage items, historical books, and decor—this weekend only! It’s a perfect opportunity to pick up a unique Mother’s Day gift 👀

Plus, bring your Iron Hill 10K bib for 2$ off admission!! We’ll see you there ⛰️

04/26/2026

Learn more about the mountain that has challenged countless climbers looking to bag one of Colorado’s most famous Fourteeners. ⛰️ For more than a century and a half, Longs Peak has lured adventurers dreaming of conquering its glacier-carved granite summit.

Read more from James Relton's article, "A Trail to Two Peaks," featured in The Colorado Magazine. Keep reading: https://h-co.org/trail-two-peaks

04/24/2026

Join our museum team as a volunteer at the Healy House and Dexter Cabin to help our staff maintain our grounds and high altitude garden 🌲

We are looking for a reliable, knowledgeable, hardworking person to help with general landscaping at high elevation, including weeding, planting and watering throughout the half-acre property. In addition, the volunteer may assist with mowing, tree trimming, brush cutting, moving small bed border rocks and fences, etc., and may at times interact with guests in the garden during normal business hours.

💧 Knowledge of sprinkler systems and maintenance is a plus!

Apply today and support our mission to preserve and protect the physical, cultural and emotional places that are important to our communities, and encourages appreciation of what makes Colorado Colorado.

Learn more about how to apply at: h-co.org/healyhousevolunteer

04/14/2026

Reserve your free tickets TODAY for Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation ✈️ On view at the History Colorado Center from May 28 to June 14, 2026!

All guests must reserve a timed-entry ticket in advance. Tickets are free to the Freedom Plane National Tour exhibition. To explore the rest of the award-winning museum, admission is $20 per adult and free for kids and members.

Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the most fundamental documents in our country’s history. Reserve your tickets at www.historycolorado.org/freedom-plane 🇺🇸

👀 Plus, History Colorado Members get exclusive access from 9 to 10 AM on select dates through the run of the show! Join now and take advantage of this unique benefit. That includes members of Healy House Museum & Dexter Cabin!

Sponsored by Koelbel Communities
Photos courtesy of National WWI Museum and Memorial

Address

912 Harrison Avenue
Leadville, CO
80461

Telephone

+17194860487

Website

http://www.healyhousemuseum.org/

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