26 Nov Telluride Museum: Christmas at Schmid Ranch
The Telluride Historical Museum once again brings holiday cheer this year with the sixth annual Olde Fashioned Christmas Celebration at the scenic Schmid Family Ranch. Let the whole family share in one of Telluride’s most well-loved holiday traditions on Saturday, December 6, 2 – 4 p.m. At this free, feel-good event, enjoy horse drawn sleigh rides, visits with Santa, wreath making, and picking out a Christmas tree from the family tree farm. Hot cocoa and cowboy coffee will be served alongside tasty chili. Dress warmly for this memorable outdoor happening.
Located on Wilson Mesa in the shadow of Wilson Peak, the historic Schmid Ranch contains over 900 acres of rolling hills and trees. The same family has owned and operated the property since it was homesteaded in 1882. Five generations of Wellses, Camplins, and Schmids worked the land through the Telluride mining boom and bust, the Great Depression, and a century of droughts and storms from the time James Wells migrated from Kansas in a covered wagon.
In an interview about four years ago, Clarice Schmid told Telluride Inside… and Out, she and her sister kept everything together, milking cows and fetching wood. Back in the day, they did not own fancy equipment like chainsaws. They had to pull logs with the help of a saddle hose and then saw by hand. One day, a young man named Paul Schmid came over to help. That winter, he began calling on Clarice. He asked her to marry him in Spring 1935. Help arrived.
The Schmid Ranch was a Centennial Farm in 1995. And to this day the ranch is still owned by the Schmid family who are dedicated to sharing their unique property with the community while maintaining a way of life that honors the land. The spread continues to operate as a working ranch, while also offering lodging, hunting, and film opportunities, like the upcoming Quentin Tarantino film due to begin filming on December 8.
The Telluride Museum seeks enthusiastic and energetic volunteers to help out cutting and hauling Christmas trees, making and selling hot chocolate, assisting with sleigh rides, be Santa’s helper, and more!
For more information or to volunteer, call Anne Gerhard at (970) 728-3344 x2 or email volunteer@telluridemuseum.org
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