Palmer High School is celebrating its 150th anniversary on Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm with an open house, offering the public a chance to view historical artifacts before they are packed away for renovations.

The school's first class graduated in 1875. Today, the Palmer High School museum houses items dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, including a report card from 1936, old uniforms, and sports memorabilia.

"We are considered one of the oldest continuously running schools west of the Mississippi so we have this 150 plus years of uninterrupted classes we've made it through the Great Depression, the Great Recession, both World Wars," Palmer Alumni Association board member Kaleigh ODonnell said.

The museum preserves decades of graduating classes. Susan Fletcher, president of the Colorado Springs High School Palmer Alumni Association, said a dance card from a 1936 spring formal is her favorite item.

"I really probably do love the dance card the best. If you were interested in dancing with a young woman, she would be wearing this on a string around her wrist, and if you wanted to dance with her, you had to go and you had to sign her dance card. So this was, this is one from the spring formal in 1936," Fletcher said.

Fletcher noted that current students enjoy looking through the archives and sometimes look for a familiar face.

"The kids love to go through the yearbooks because if they are generational Palmer graduates, they will go through and they will find grandma or great grandma or mom or dad or aunt or uncle in the yearbooks," Fletcher said.

The oldest yearbook in the archives is from 1911, but News5 was able to see the brown yearbook from 1912. Fletcher said the museum holds two copies of each yearbook, the only years missing from 1911 to 2026 are 2023 and 2024.

The museum also features hundreds of photos on the walls and in "Hall of Fame" memory books. Some notable alumni including Elvira and Reggie Jackson.

"It's up to us to carry on the torch and yes, not every torch needs to be carried, but this one is important," ODonnell said.

The school has gone through four mascots since the first class graduated in 1875. One mascot, Eagle Beak, even made it to the Supreme Court.

"We adopted Eagle Beak and used him for several decades before it was rightly pointed out that he is politically incorrect. He's definitely an over stereotypical caricature of a Native American, and so the school no longer uses that," said O'Donnell.

O'Donnell said Palmer High School was the first school to go to the Supreme Court to argue their right to use it and lost.

"Out of respect to the kids and the legend, we have found this middle ground where we still celebrate this old mascot and the traditions that it was trying to teach here at the school," O'Donnell said, "Like the actual fact that the Southern Ute Indian people were here at the same time that Palmer founded the Fountain Colony. So from the start, Palmer has been intertwined with the Native American community that calls this place home before we got here."

The new mascot is Eagle Beak 2, an American bald eagle.

Big renovations are on the calendar for Palmer High School this summer, meaning these historical items will soon be put in boxes.

"It could be in storage for as long as the next five years, depending on how long construction takes. We really do need the public to come out and celebrate this history with us this weekend because if not, we will momentarily lose this out of the public light for a while and then we've got to make sure it's not lost forever," ODonnell said.

One of my favorite history hikes in Colorado is Homestead Meadows, just south of Estes Park. Homesteaders built eight homes in this area starting in the late 1800s. A sign at the trailhead says the last homestead was vacated in 1952.

The trailhead is a large parking lot next to Highway 36. Theres a bathroom and a sign board that talks about the history of the area and a fire in 2002 (the Big Elk Fire) that burned more than 4,400 acres and one of the historic homesteads.

The hike starts downhill to the Little Thompson River. Youll cross a bridge and then start heading uphill.

The first three miles are a nice wander in the forest. The trees here are mostly evergreens, so the trail is beautiful yearround.

The trail crosses the river as it climbs to Homestead Meadows. Expect four bridges to help, but there are at least four creek crossings with no bridges, so in a wet year, you may get your feet wet a couple times.

After three miles, the trees start opening up as you come to Homestead Meadows. Here you'll find several signs. The first talk about the Homestead Act of 1862, which offered citizens 160 acres if they built a house and met other requirements. The sign explains that people came to this valley for the land, but also because there was water, game animals and timber.

The next signs are at a trail split. Turn left for the Laycock, Boren and Hill homesteads. The Engert homestead is still listed on the sign, but it is gone.

Turn right for the Walker, Griffith, Brown and Irvin homesteads. Because we wanted a hike of about seven miles, we turned right to see the Walker and Griffith homesteads.

Sarah Walker was the only woman to homestead in this area. While her home is gone, you can still find her stove, some bedsprings, and a short distance away, the remnants of a brick cellar with what looks like a collapsed wood structure on top.

A sign explains that Sarah lived here for 15 years and made money selling eggs and cream in Lyons.

Follow the trail further west, deeper into the meadow, to see the Griffith homestead. While it's called the Griffith homestead, William Griffith actually bought the land from the state in 1923. Wander around this area and you'll find an old cabin with several remnants, including the old stove pipe. There are multiple collapsed buildings. Look carefully and you may spot door openings, window spaces, old bed springs and other items.

From here, you can follow the trails to the Brown and Irvin homestead. However, it's a bit easier to visit those homesteads on trails from nearby Hermit Park.

We had lunch near the cabin and hiked out.

On your way out, when you pass the sign talking about homesteading, start watching the creek bed on your right. A short distance away, you may spot two other vehicles just off the trail.

Note: Because the trails to the homesteads can be faint, I highly recommend downloading a map from AllTrails or the free COTREX map.

Details: The trail to the Walker and Griffith homesteads from the Lion Gulch Trailhead is about 7.5 miles roundtrip with 1,300 feet of elevation gain.

Directions: Google Lion Gulch Trailhead. From Lyons, take Highway 36 north 12.3 miles to the large trailhead on your left. It's about eight miles south of Estes Park.

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To celebrate the state's 150th birthday this year, a local artist put together a new mural at Colorado Springs' Visitors Center Downtown.

You can see the artwork from the intersection of East Cimarron Street and South Cascade Avenue.

The mural features iconic images like Garden of the Gods and Historic Downtown, along with a portrait of Robert Hamilton Jr., the original owner of the building where Visit COS now stands.

The mural also marks our nation's 250th birthday.

"I think this is just a perfect new mural to represent those two important anniversaries, plus additional anniversaries that are hidden in the mural," said Matt Mayberry with the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.

It also shines a light on the history of the city's old street car district. A QR code at the bottom of the mural offers an interactive experience.

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Colorado Springs is preparing for a historic celebration as both the United States marks its 250th anniversary and Colorado celebrates 150 years of statehood in 2026.

"No other state in the union can say they have a milestone birthday the way Colorado does," said Nate Shull with the Pikes Peak Area Local Organizing Committee.

The dual celebration offers a unique opportunity to reflect on the region's rich history and its connection to the nation's story. Matt Mayberry, director of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, believes this timing provides the perfect moment for reflection.

"It's the best time to think back to how we became this place," Mayberry said.

The connection between Colorado Springs and American history runs deep, symbolized by the statue of Katherine Lee Bates outside the Pioneers Museum. Bates, who hailed from Massachusetts, famously looked up at Pikes Peak and was inspired to write "America the Beautiful," one of the nation's most recognized hymns.

"Colorado Springs is a place that has constantly reinvented itself every 20 years," Mayberry said.

The celebration aims to include everyone, whether they're Colorado natives or transplants like Mayberry himself.

"I came here 30 years ago from my home state of Iowa," Mayberry said.

The Pioneers Museum recently opened its "America 250 Colorado 150" exhibit, displayed alongside an exhibit celebrating 150 years of Colorado Springs. Notably, the city is actually five years older than the state itself.

"This is the first of our two major exhibits, which will look back and look forward," Mayberry said.

The celebration will extend far beyond museum exhibits. Shull says concerts and events are planned throughout 2026, with multiple venues participating across the region.

"There are a number of museums, libraries, universities, hosting their own set of programs," Shull said.

The committee is developing a "Passport Program" to encourage Coloradans to visit special exhibits across the state. The main celebration will take place on August 1st, Colorado's official birthday, featuring America's Mountain - Pikes Peak.

"That is the mountain I believe the governor will be climbing," Shull said.

Both organizers emphasize that these celebrations serve a deeper purpose beyond festivities. They want to honor the nation's and state's history while using those lessons to build a better future.

"We're at a different place today than we were in 1976 or in 1876. Each of those years, the country was going through challenges and they used these anniversaries to unify and to recommit to the values of the United States," Mayberry said.

To learn more about Colorado 150 and America 250, click here.

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