Since last year, the Redstone Historical Society (RHS) has been working to establish a new, larger museum location. Last month, a successful fundraiser toward purchasing the DeMaestri-Durrett Cottage moved this effort to its next step.
Redstone was originally built around the turn of the 20th century by John Cleveland Osgood. Osgood was among the ultra-wealthy industrialists known as robber barons; he specifically focused on trading in coal. The community was established as a kind of small kingdom for Osgood, with the large manor now often called the Redstone Castle, 88 cottages for workers constructed through the 1890s and a variety of local amenities.
One of those cottages, a two-bedroom and one-bathroom structure, was purchased by John Persano in 1944. The Persano family moved to Leadville during the silver mining boom, then settled in the New Castle and Glenwood Springs area. John, one of the youngest sons, was a mailman and avid fisherman. He purchased the Osgood-built cottage as a family fishing retreat.
The cottage then passed to his nieces and nephews, the DeMaestri siblings, in the 1960s. Their first cousins in the Durrett family took over ownership in the 1980s. Each generation of the family has sought to preserve the cottage as close to the original Osgood conditions as possible. The Durrett cousins — Ashton Durrett, Anthony Durrett and Lisa Erickson— first approached RHS about a potential sale of the property in mid-2023. Negotiations began in earnest last summer.
For years, an old coal-mining lamp house has served as the historical society’s Redstone Museum. The small building is not large enough to adequately display much of the 100- to 150-year-old artifacts. So, many pieces of artwork, preserved photos and mining equipment have been stored in society members’ basements as the organization sought a solution. The acquisition of the DeMaestri-Durrett cottage promises a new era for the village’s diligent historians.
RHS has been in conversation with Pitkin County and other entities like History Colorado since last year for support in the purchase. One of the challenges through negotiations has been rising market prices.
The property was assessed at a fair-market estimate of around $515,000 in early 2024; that number increased to $825,000 by early spring and $879,000 by June. After consideration and significant discussion, the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners agreed to a funding match of about $200,000 or just under 25% of the total price. This required RHS to raise at least that amount to activate the Pitkin County contribution. RHS had until July 31 to come up with the funds. Had the numbers not been met, the cottage would have been available to other interested parties for private purchase instead.
In early June, RHS was $25,000 short of funds required for the Pitkin County match. Luckily, a private donor stepped in, unlocking the matching commitment and helping the fundraiser reach the needed threshold. The accomplishment coincided with the announcement of a $250,000 grant from the History Colorado State Historical Fund toward preservation and designation of the cottage.
RHS is now in the process of working with Pitkin County and History Colorado to finalize the purchase and move forward with paperwork for official historical designations. Part of that process involves additional rehabilitation. While the cottage is one of the best-preserved of the Osgood-era construction, it needs some adjustments before it can open as a public museum. Once those steps are complete, RHS will be able to move forward with developing exhibitions, finally moving many of the mining-era artifacts from basements into the cottage for display.
RHS welcomes new members to support their community education and preservation work. You can learn more about the DeMaestri-Durrett Cottage and the history of Redstone at www.historyredstone.org