Western Mining History : Reliving the Industrial Revolution of the West

Click here to access our Western Museum of Mining & Industry photo gallery.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Western Museum of Mining & Industry in Colorado Springs, Colorado. WMMI's slogan is "The Museum that Works", a reference to the numerous pieces of antique machinery that are in working order and are operated during tours by the museum staff. To extend the working theme to the extreme, WMMI also has a full-sized stamp mill that is operated a few times per year during special events. While I have seen smaller working mockups of stamp mills before, this is the only one that I know of that is full-sized and works with the original equipment.

David Futey, education director for WMMI, gave me a tour of the facility and fired up many of the machines on display. Of particular interest is the massive Corliss steam engine that was anchored to the foundation of the building prior to the building being constructed. This museum was literally built around the Corliss. The steam engine is currently operated using an electric motor to demonstrate how it worked. In addition to many working machines, the museum had many interesting displays related to mining history and a full library of materials that can be accessed by appointment.

Education is a focus of WMMI and the museum offers daily tours, lecture series, educational events, and tours for schools. The school tours have been popular with between 6,000 and 7,000 children visiting the museum each year.

I very much enjoyed my visit to the museum and look forward to visiting again in the future. Please be sure to take a look at the WMMI gallery (Click Here) and if you get the chance, stop by the museum and pay a visit!

Western Museum of Mining & Industry
225 North Gate Blvd.
Colorado Springs, CO 80921
Phone: 719-488-0880 or 1-800-752-6558
Web: WMMI.org

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