Borderlands of Southern Colorado Exhibit, Featuring Original Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Coming to El Pueblo History Museum

PUEBLO, Colo., April 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The much-anticipated Borderlands of Southern Colorado exhibit will open at the El Pueblo History Museum on May 4, expanding the knowledge and definition of "borderlands" – historical, political, cultural, sociological, environmental and theoretical – and honoring the many cultures that make up Colorado's identity and that influence U.S. history. The public is invited to a free exhibit-opening celebration on May 4, from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The exhibit includes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the original Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the historic document that ended the Mexican-American War, now on loan from the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C., through July 4.  This will be the first time the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo has ever been on exhibit in Colorado. 

"The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo is a milestone in American history that ended a war and reshaped our country," said Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero. "We are honored to share this peace treaty with the El Pueblo History Museum, built on the site of the 1842 trading post on this historic international border."

The 1848 treaty transferred all or parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and Colorado, from Mexico to the United States – more than 525,000 square miles of territory. While the treaty moved the political border between the United States and Mexico from the Arkansas River to the Rio Grande, it did not alter the linguistic, ethnic, and geological borders that were already taking shape. In shifting this border, the treaty impacted the lives of families who still consider southern Colorado home.

"The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo significantly redefined the geographic and cultural borders of what we know today as Colorado," said Governor John Hickenlooper. "This exhibit highlights an important part of our state's history that is unknown to many, and honors the ancestral families who made Colorado what it is today."

The permanent, bilingual exhibit will focus on southern Colorado's geo-political border history, as well as the region's historic and ongoing borders of cultures, ethnicities, landscapes, industries, religions and identities. Visitors will experience an interactive map that showcases shifting zones of control; the original Colorado Constitution printed in Spanish and German; adobe-building station; ancestor map, where visitors can connect their roots to Pueblo; beet-topping tool from the Bracero Program; and a 1940s interactive kitchen that showcases ethnic food traditions, including the Pueblo Chile.

"Most people are not familiar with this aspect of Colorado's identity," said El Pueblo History Museum Director Dawn DiPrince. "The Borderlands history is very important to individuals, families and communities of southern Colorado, and we are proud to collaborate and share this history with a broader audience to expand the way Coloradans understand the history of our state."

About Borderlands of Southern Colorado
Borderlands of Southern Colorado is a new core exhibit at El Pueblo History Museum. The idea and planning stages have been in development for four years. The historical document, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, is on display from May 4 until July 4, and will then return to the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C.

About National Archives
The National Archives is an independent Federal agency that serves American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, so people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. From the Declaration of Independence to accounts of ordinary Americans, the holdings of the National Archives directly touch the lives of millions of people. The National Archives carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centers, and Presidential Libraries, and online at: www.archives.gov. 

About El Pueblo History Museum
El Pueblo History Museum showcases the city's history and the region's many cultural and ethnic groups. The property includes a re-created 1840s adobe trading post and plaza, and the archeological excavation site of the original 1842 El Pueblo trading post. El Pueblo History Museum is a Community Museum of History Colorado. For more information, visit www.historycolorado.org/venue/el-pueblo-history-museum.

SOURCE El Pueblo History Museum