Free Smithsonian Museum Day

Free Smithsonian Day!

• Free Admission Saturday, September 20th from 10am-4pm
• Pop-Up Quilt show with the San Juan Quilters Guild in the Pioneer Village
• 10am - 2pm Hustler Press printing press demonstrations in the Print Shop
• 11am - Kutz-Brewer Photo Program in the 1906 Church with Dena Burt! Free

Charles G. Brewer (1848-1922) took up a homestead of 160 acres on the west side of the San Juan between Blanco and Bloomfield in the 1880s and helped build the Hammond Ditch. He was married to Hannah Sophia Kutz of the Kutz Canyon family. Following floods and other troubles, the Brewer family with children Truman, Marda and Bertha (and later Everett, adopted) relocated to Aztec acquiring the corner lot at Main and Chuska where he built a store in addition to his brickworks. While Hannah and the daughters ran the store, Charles and Truman burned brick and contracted to build the courthouse in 1902, several local brick houses, the Methodist Church, the American Hotel (Miss Gail's Inn), and other local buildings.

Family photos of family, other locals, and buildings are part of the family photo collection and provide a delightful glimpse into "Old Aztec" and the mystery that comes with identifying old family photos decades, miles, and generations later!

Dena Clowes Burt is a lifelong Montanan, with the exception of 3 years living in Sicily while her husband was serving in the US Navy. Her maternal grandmother, Bertha Brewer Patten (1909-1990), grew up in Aztec. After Bertha's death, Dena became interested in genealogy. She is currently working on numerous family trees with more than 12,000 researched ancestors! In addition to genealogy, Dena loves history, flower gardening, traveling and her grandchildren.

The San Juan Quilters Guild will hold a pop-up show of quilts in the Aztec Pioneer Village. The guild's mission is to educate and create a community of quilters to share ideas, develop skills, and encourage the tradition of quilting. For information about the guild, meeting times and more contact: info@sjqg.org.

For information about the museum and Free Smithsonian Day - call 505-334-9829.