Some of us are suckers for a quirky roadside attraction. One such snapshot of Colorado culture is just north of Fort Collins. The Colorado Sun reports the Bee Family Centennial Farm Museum is a rare slice of the state’s agricultural history—but it faces the risk of closing down for good.
Kevin Simpson is a co-founder, writer and editor at The Colorado Sun, and he joined us to discuss the rest of the story.
“The Bee family migrated to Colorado in the late 19th century and eventually took up farming on 160 acres just north of Fort Collins, about a stone's throw east of where I-25 runs these days,” Simpson told KUNC. “And significantly, this family kept everything.”
Get top headlines and KUNC reporting directly to your mailbox each week when you subscribe to In The NoCo.
The family moved their original house from the previous site to their farmland. They still have a vintage Chevy, tractors, and even old school lunchboxes.
There are also many documents in the collection.
“That's of particular interest to historians - things like a bill of sale for a tractor or whatever, that really sort of charts the history of agriculture up there,” Simpson said. “The property stayed in the family, which is what accounts for its designation as a (Colorado) Centennial Farm.”
The last year of full-fledged farming on the land was in 2004. After that, the family sold all but 20 of those 160 acres to Colorado State University. A conservation easement through Larimer County protects the land from being developed. The farm museum rests on 10 of the remaining acres. In addition to artifacts and documents, the museum hosts educational programs for kids and school groups.
“Members of the fourth generation of the Bee family created a nonprofit that then became the farm museum,” Simpson said. “Liz Bee Harrison – she is part of the original Bee family – one of the seven kids who make up the fourth generation, and her brother, Bob Bee, still both live on the property and have essentially worked for free all these years doing everything from maintenance to guiding tours. Because, of course, they lived a good chunk of the history of this place. So they're very invested in preserving the ag history of their family on this land.”
But now the Bee siblings are ready to step back from so much responsibility. The museum closed for the winter and the family said it will not reopen in the spring.
But what does the museum need to be able to open back up and stay that way?
“For one thing, they need restrooms, to be perfectly blunt,” Simpson told KUNC. “All it has on the grounds right now is a porta-potty, and county regulations require something more than that in order to expand its (museum) hours, because it's only open two days a week: Fridays and Saturdays, May through October.”
But mainly, Simpson said, the Bee Family Centennial Farm Museum needs a plan that includes a reliable source of funding. The museum board is looking into partnering with other history and agriculture-related organizations and hiring staff to take over managing the collection.
