Lordsburg Museum preserves Hidalgo County history through volunteer effort

The Lordsburg Hidalgo County Museum at 710 E. 2nd St. in Lordsburg is a small, volunteer-run nonprofit that preserves and displays the county’s layered past while operating with limited resources. The museum offers free admission and typically posts weekday hours roughly 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, though visitors are advised to confirm current hours before arriving.

Inside the modest space, exhibits span the Lordsburg World War II prisoner of war camp, regional mining and ranching history, rocks and minerals, antique tools and railroad artifacts. A specialty collection of Avon bottles is among the museum’s distinctive holdings. Community donations and volunteer labor have driven acquisitions and exhibit expansion over the years, with longtime curator Dean Link credited locally for helping build many of the displays.

As a cultural anchor in Hidalgo County, the museum serves residents, school groups and visitors seeking local context beyond roadside stops. Its collections document local economic lifelines — mining, railroads and ranching — and the wartime history that is often overlooked in broader state narratives. The presence of artifacts from the Lordsburg POW camp underscores the museum’s role in preserving difficult but essential chapters of the past.

The museum’s reliance on volunteers and donations shapes access and programming. Limited weekday hours reflect staffing constraints common to small museums statewide; when volunteer availability fluctuates, public hours and programming can be affected. That operational model places civic responsibility on local institutions and government partners to ensure consistent public access to historical resources that support education and heritage tourism.

Local civic leaders and chambers encourage residents and visitors to contact the museum for current hours and for opportunities to volunteer or donate. The museum maintains an online presence at visitlordsburg.com where visitors can find event listings and contact links. For residents, volunteering or donating material culture can directly expand exhibits and keep doors open for school visits and regional travelers.

Preserving Hidalgo County’s history through a volunteer model demonstrates strong community ownership but also highlights vulnerabilities. Sustained public access will depend on continued community support, clear communication of hours and needs, and potential partnerships with county and municipal agencies to stabilize operations. For local readers, the museum offers a free, centrally located place to connect with the county’s past, and supporting it—through time, object donations or modest funding—helps keep Hidalgo County stories on display for future generations.