The Louisville Historical Museum, run by the City of Louisville, tells the town’s story from 1878 to 1955 across three small historic buildings on Main Street. The Jacoe Store was a grocery from the 1920s to the 1950s where residents shopped for imported Italian goods, and its collections now show what life was like for an early Louisville coal miner. The Tomeo House is a three-room home where the seven-member Rossi family lived from 1924 to 1941. The Jordinelli House holds a six-foot by six-foot replica of downtown Louisville as it looked between 1895 and 1920.
Tours are free. The museum’s tour request page lists an in-person group tour for six or more people and a group tour for preschools, schools and other organizations, available Tuesday through Saturday during open hours. For class trips, the museum says tours take students through all three buildings and that staff will focus on a topic if you ask, such as coal mining history or daily life. Because the buildings are small, classes of more than 25 people are split into two groups, and the museum asks for at least one adult chaperone for every six children under age 12. Teachers can also use two primary source packets written to Colorado standards for grades 2-5, one on Louisville’s Italian heritage and one on what historic buildings can teach about the past.
The pages do not use the word homeschool. They are addressed to teachers, schools, preschools, “other organizations” and groups of six or more, so a homeschool group should fit the group tour as written. Families of five or fewer do not need a reservation: the museum says small groups can drop in for a tour any time it is open.
Know before you go
- Where: Louisville Historical Museum, 1001 Main Street, Louisville, CO 80027
- Cost: tours are free. A general admission price is not listed.
- Ages: any age group; teacher packets are written for grades 2-5
- When: Tuesday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday 1 to 5 p.m., Thursday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday
- Reservations: groups of six or more request a tour at least four days in advance (the class trips page asks teachers for a few weeks of notice). Groups of five or fewer can drop in.
- How to book: tour request form. Staff email to confirm the date and time.
- Details: book a tour page and class trips and teacher guides
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