Buena Vista Depot & Transportation Museum

The Buena Vista Depot is the only surviving railroad depot in Chaffee County.  The Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad arrived in Buena Vista in 1880.  The South Park Line, as it was called, struggled financially throughout its forty-year history.  The Depot was built in1890/91 when the line was operating as the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway.

When the South Park Line closed in the 1920s, the depot sold and moved to the southwest corner of town.  It functioned as the main office and private residence of the Woodland Brook Cabins for years.  In the fall of 2002, an addition caught fire and damaged the depot.  Rather than destroy the now singed piece of history, the owners donated the building to Buena Vista Heritage.  

BVH spent eight years fundraising and coordinating the restoration.  The Buena Vista Depot and Transportation Museum opened to the public in July 2011.  The displays tell the stories of all three railroads that once served the Upper Arkansas River Valley.   A historic caboose sits beside the depot.  The Depot Museum is open during the summer. It is located in McPhelemy Park, corner of  Main Street and US 24.