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Pagosa Springs Mayor and Museum Volunteers Rescue 80% of Artifacts as Floods Undermine History Museum
As a second catastrophic flood swept through Pagosa Springs, Mayor Shari Pierce and her husband moved a vault of family histories to safety, and volunteers later salvaged most of the museum's collection. The building now hangs over the San Juan River, and officials are weighing how to rebuild.
PAGOSA SPRINGS â When the San Juan River rose about 10 feet in two hours on Nov. 1, it tore away the ground beneath the Pagosa Springs History Museum, leaving the building slouched over the water's edge and its collections in peril. In the days that followed, Mayor Shari Pierce and a crew of volunteers raced to save irreplaceable records of local families â and they recovered far more than many expected.
Pierce, who also serves on the museum's board, went into the building on the morning of Sunday, Nov. 8, as the town braced for a second catastrophic flood in as many weeks. Her priority was a gun safe holding an archive of family histories collected last summer to preserve the town's legacy, along with records stored in the museum office.
"While I was in the office getting the paperwork into totes, my husband went over and pushed that vault into the back building," Pierce said. "Otherwise, it would have been in the river, too."
The effort came none too soon. The floodwaters chewed into the museum's foundation and dragged part of it into the river. A cabinet and some items fell into the water during the storm, but most of the interior stayed intact, Pierce said. Volunteers and museum staff removed what they could last Wednesday.
"We were able to salvage probably 80% of our artifacts, which is amazing, when you look at that building," she said.
The Nov. 1 flood nearly matched a record set in 1911, the region's largest on record. It was the second major flood to hit the town in two weeks, part of a broader weather disaster that dumped more than 20 trillion gallons of rain on the Four Corners states and Nevada â roughly 10 months of the flow over Niagara Falls â according to former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue. Communities from the Four Corners to Alamosa have contended with the fallout.
Pagosa Springs remains largely isolated after both main routes out of town were destroyed. Residents have been digging truckloads of mud off roads and out of businesses and homes while discussing how to rebuild.
The museum's precarious position has drawn attention beyond the town. Images of the building hanging over the river have circulated widely for more than a week. The structure remains a priority as long as it threatens to collapse into the San Juan and possibly take out another bridge, Pierce said.
Just a year ago, Pagosa Springs received nearly $4 million to fortify the San Juan's banks near the museum after another flood. That was less than officials had hoped for: the Trump administration denied a federal disaster declaration as the president feuded with Gov. Jared Polis over the fate of disgraced Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.
State historians and archivists have reached out to help museum staff handle the rescued collection, Pierce said, though more pressing matters remain in the short term.
Community members have expressed gratitude to Pierce for saving evidence of their families' histories. Museum officials are collecting donations for reconstruction through the museum's website.
"Know we greatly appreciate your donation and continued prayers for our community. The pioneers after the 1911 flood were able to overcome, and we are determined to do the same," the museum's website reads. "We are 'Pagosa Strong.'"
Pierce said she sees the disaster as a chance to rethink the museum's role.
"It's an opportunity for the museum to kind of reinvent ourselves moving forward, and include the community, from the children to the elderly, in discussions about what they want this museum to look like," she said. "It could use some revamping and things to touch more generations."