Hundreds of photographs and other materials about early Golden were purchased from the estate of Richard A. Ronzio in 1995, and have been cataloged and preserved and made available to the public.  They are the base group of the Golden Historical Collection, a joint endeavor of Golden Landmarks and the Jefferson County Public Library.  These include items ranging from photos of historic Golden places unduplicated elsewhere to a rare official publication of the laws of Jefferson Territory, the citizens' extralegal provisional government that preceded the creation of the Territory of Colorado.  The purpose of the Golden Historical Collection is to assemble a central repository of historic photographs of the Golden area, professionally cared for and offered for public use.  Photographic reproduction of this collection is available, and reproduction rights are the property of GLA.  A duplicate set of photos is available for viewing in the GLA offices for those desiring to order copies.  To visit the online exhibits of the Ronzio photographs, go here.

Pete Morrison Collection

A Hollywood western movie star around Golden? Pete Morrison, of the pioneer family for whom the town of Morrison was named, was a star of the earliest Hollywood westerns, making movies reminiscent of the American West his grandfather George once knew. In a career spanning over two decades Pete Morrison worked with many of the most famous actors of his time including Tom Mix, Wallace and Noah Beery, John Barry and John Wayne. The Pete Morrison Collection, acquired by Golden Landmarks in 1986, celebrates the life and accomplishments of this noteworthy splash upon the silver screen, through film memorabilia, western clothing and more. Find out more about this special collection.

Museum Collections

Since 1972 the Golden Landmarks Association has owned and curated historic artifacts for museum use, having established, collected and cared for for over 35 years the Astor House and Clear Creek History Park collections now owned by the citizens of Golden, artifacts now part of the Golden History Center collection, and currently organizing the Brickyard Collection to be housed at the historic Brickyard House. A feature among this is the historic post office desk reputedly belonging to the famed silver king Horace Tabor, a prominent customer of the brick company this house belonged to who faced the Tabor Grand Opera House with Golden bricks. Our museum artifacts have been generously donated by people interested in preserving Golden's past.

Golden Landmarks Association Archives

Throughout its existence GLA has accumulated many more items not commonly available for public display, files and artifacts that comprise the GLA Archives.  Available for research purposes to the public, these include oral histories, books, directories, videos, and more. Get in touch to find out if anything might be useful to you!