“Fields of Devotion” Honors Enduring Rural Community in Southern Colorado

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Angelika Albaladejo, History Colorado Communications and Public Relations Manager
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“Fields of Devotion” Honors Enduring Rural Community in Southern Colorado

PUEBLO, CO — June 30, 2026 —  From fertile farm fields to boisterous baseball fields and foreign battlefields, the people of south-central Colorado’s small town of Avondale step up to the plate in many ways. A new exhibition opening at History Colorado’s El Pueblo History Museum shares this community’s stories as told by the residents themselves.

Fields of Devotion explores how Avondale – a rural community just east of Pueblo – is evolving over time while continuing to uphold traditions of faith, fun, and fidelity.

Avondale is one of the oldest settlements in what is now Colorado. Not only does the town predate statehood, many of its current residents can trace their family history in the area back to the days before Colorado was even a territory. During this 150th year of Colorado statehood, the story of Avondale exemplifies the long lasting impacts of the families who shaped this place, and the experiences of their descendants who are still here today.

From the community’s early settler days to its success with agriculture and business, its embrace of America’s pastime baseball, its deep religious devotion, and its pride for military service – this exhibition honors the experiences of this small but significant town and the deep love they share.

Fields of Devotion draws on stories shared with El Pueblo History Museum by the town’s residents through History Colorado’s Avondale Museum of Memory project. Through an intriguing array of historic photographs and artifacts, alongside the stories and voices of community members themselves, this exhibition traces the establishment of the town by Hispanos, Italians, and migrant farmworkers in the 1800s, all the way through today.

“Anybody with a connection to Pueblo knows Avondale. It has enriched us all of our lives with the crops they produce and the people who have given service to this country. It has connected us through baseball and draws residents and visitors alike for the annual Jamaica festival at Sacred Heart Catholic Church,” said Dianne Archuleta, Director of El Pueblo History Museum. “In Fields of Devotion these stories come together into one beautiful, collaborative exhibition that resonates with families and community members, and reminds us of the rich and diverse history of this unique town called Avondale.”

Avondale’s rich history starts with homesteaders flocking to the region’s fertile land for grazing and farming. Prominent businessman Ceran St. Vrain held the land rights to more than four million acres, and he needed miners, ranchers, and farmers to move to the area and make it prosperous. Charles “Charley” Autobees – a surveyor, settler, farmer, and businessman – took up the opportunity to bring as many families from Northern New Mexico as possible. Autobees chose an area near the mouth of the Huerfano River where it empties into the Arkansas River. Today, descendants of the family who now go by Autobee still live in Avondale and Pueblo, and shared their stories for this exhibition.

Avondale’s once fruitful farmland and robust economy have faced many challenges throughout the town’s history, including current struggles to obtain basic resources like water, infrastructure, and food. But its residents remain a tight knit community taking pride in the bounties of their hard work and their commitment to the values that their ancestors brought to the region.

“When the army depot was booming, Avondale was booming. When the mill was booming, Avondale was booming,” said Lynn Soto, who served as a community liaison for History Colorado Museum of Memory’s Avondale Neighborhood Memory Project. But as times are changing, Soto feels the community needs to “keep fighting” to ensure access to healthy food, safe and affordable recreation for young people, and other resources.

El Pueblo History Museum has collaborated closely with Avondale’s descendants and residents to gather their stories and artifacts. These intergenerational contributions range from a mural created by young artists Celeste and Amanda Santistevan to oral histories provided by elder community members who have since passed away.

Fields of Devotion is on view at the El Pueblo History Museum from July 18, 2026 to July 17, 2027 and is included with General Admission tickets. El Pueblo History Museum will host an opening celebration on July 18 from 12 to 4 pm.

About El Pueblo History Museum

History Colorado’s El Pueblo History Museum is located at 301 N. Union Avenue in the heart of the city of Pueblo, part of the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk District and the Pueblo Creative Corridor. The museum stands on the site of the original El Pueblo trading post, constructed in 1842. The museum site features beautiful galleries, a gift shop, bookstore, gardens, an active archaeological dig, and a recreation of the 1842 adobe trading post.

El Pueblo History Museum is open daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.ElPuebloHistoryMuseum.org or call 719-583-0453.

About Museum of Memory

History Colorado’s Museum of Memory is a community-based public history initiative that creates opportunities for Colorado communities to collaborate in crafting their own historic record and deciding how to remember their collective past on their own terms. These efforts reanimate, center, and amplify the histories that have long existed only in the margins. To co-author the community’s shared history, Museum of Memory collaborates with community members, school districts, community-based organizations, resident teams, activists, community connectors, artists, cultural experts, students and volunteers. Museum of Memory is based on the idea that when people see themselves as the creators and makers of their own history, they also come to see themselves as the writers of their own destinies.

About History Colorado

History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 146-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation which provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and other access to archaeology and historic preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is one of the nation’s largest state funded preservation programs of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state. Additionally, the offices of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Officer are part of History Colorado.

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and 10 other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information. #HistoryColorado

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