Brush Museum board member Steve Rhode and museum attendant Carrie Gray said the new exhibits include the history of the Brush Sugar Beet Factory, which operated in Brush from 1906 to 1955, area Native American chiefs and a tribute to the newspaper and printing industry.
It also has acquired some new museum pieces including items that belonged to the city’s namesake Jared L. Brush – a western union telegraph message stating he had been nominated as lieutenant governor and a business card. Another new addition to the museum is a bison skull donated by John and Marilyn Woodward that John found on a hunting trip in the 1960s. The skull is estimated to be about 150 years old.
The museum lobby has been updated and now features a large photo display tribute to the former Knearl School, which used to be located in the building now housing the Brush Museum. The school opened in 1910 and operated as a school until 1971. The photo display includes a large photo of William Knearl, who was a school board member and postmaster and donated the land for the school, as well as photos of former Knearl school classes.
Rhode said a large wall, in what it calls the Brush Wing, was removed to open up the room, which houses much of the history of Brush. It also revamped its model of the town of Brush in the room, which had occupied a lot of space, to make better use of the room.
Rhode said the Brush Wing is often visited by students who sit in the antique school desks and these changes also make the room more appealing to them.
The new Native American chiefs exhibit was created by Gray, who is an artist, as a tribute to chiefs that reigned in northeast Colorado in the 1800s. There were a number of battles between the military and Cheyenne and Arapahoe Native Americans in northeastern Colorado in the 1800s, including the Battle of Beecher’s Island near Brush in 1868.
The Brush Museum also houses an exhibit with artifacts from area military going back to the Civil War and an 1895 square baby grand piano from the Molly Brown Museum in Denver, which the Brush Museum acquired in 2001. Gray said “kids lot it” and museum visitors enjoy playing tunes on the working piano, which was recently used by the Brush Music Club at its presentation of lullabies at the May Museum Sack Lunch Program. Photos of Molly Brown and information about her infamous voyage on the Titanic ship have been added adjacent to the piano.
Gray said many people enjoy visiting the museum in the summer, including softball and baseball teams who play in tournaments in Brush. Visitors also include people from the nearby campground and those attending high school and family reunions in Brush. Gray said one family attending a reunion came in looking for information about their great-great-grandfather and Gray was able to find a photo of him playing a clown in a 4th of July parade.
The Brush Museum opened in 1999 and is celebrating its 15th year. The museum is located at 314 S. Clayton Street and is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday from April 26 to October 29.
A museum open house will be held on July 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about the museum, call 842-0382.