Trinidad History Museum

Trinidad History Museum Review

A complex with three separate museums and a garden, the Trinidad History Museum is a great way to learn about the town's history. The first museum is Baca House, the 1870s residence of Felipe Baca, a prominent Hispanic farmer and businessman. Displays convey a mix of Anglo (clothes, furniture) and Hispanic (santos, textiles) influences. Next door, the 1882 Bloom Mansion was built by Frank Bloom, who made his money through ranching and banking. He filled his ornate Second Empire-style Victorian with fine furnishings and fabrics brought from the East Coast and abroad. The adjacent Santa Fe Trail Museum is dedicated to the effect of the trail and railroad on the community. Inside are exhibits covering Trinidad's heyday as a commercial and cultural center. Finish up with a stop in the Heritage Gardens, filled with native plants and century-old grapevines similar to those tended by the pioneers.