During your visit to the Overland Trail Museum, discover exhibits about the rich history and heritage of Sterling and the Overland Trail. Outside you can experience 19th and 20th century life in the Village. Enjoy shopping in the Overland Trail Museum Store.
Overland Trail Museum
Start your visit in the Overland Trail Museum, housed within a replica of an old fort. The Overland Trail Museum explores Logan County’s history, from its beginnings to today. The Museum’s holdings, many of which have been handed down from the town’s founding families, are featured in the Museum and offer something for everyone to explore. Extensive exhibits include pioneer and Native American history and showcase artifacts including vintage clothing, antique electronics, old television sets, phonographs, a collection of handmade toys, a fireplace built in 1936 from petrified wood, vintage rifles and an assortment of taxidermy animals. Old photographs of downtown Sterling adorn the Museum’s walls, offering a visual transformation of Sterling and the surrounding region.
The Village
The Overland Trail Museum’s Village, found behind the Overland Trail Museum, features a collection of buildings from pre-1915 surrounded by trees, native grasses and wildflowers. Wander the Village and explore the original Stoney Buttes one-room schoolhouse, the Evangelical Lutheran Concordia Church, the Dailey Cash Store and the granary barn, featuring a fine collection of branding irons, saddles and other farm and ranch equipment. Additionally the Village is home to a well-equipped blacksmith shop; a replica of an early 1900s barber shop, featuring displays from an original barbershop in Haxtun, Colorado; a print shop with several pieces from a historic print shop; a filling station, the Herford Depot and an old box car; and an extensive array of farm machinery scattered throughout the grounds.
Dave Hamil Building
Explore the Dave Hamil Building. Completed in 2002, the Dave Hamil Building explores the history of how electricity changed the lifestyle of rural America and the role that Colorado’s own Dave Hamil played in the change. Additional exhibits in the Dave Hamil Building provide interpretive information on the Pawnee Pioneer Trail Scenic and Historic Byway.
Be sure to stop by the Overland Trail Museum Store. Gifts and keepsakes related to the Overland Trail, Sterling and Colorado are all available to purchase.
Travel Tips
- The Overland Trail Museum is ADA compliant.
- Welcoming and well-shaded picnic areas throughout the Village offer ideal resting places.