The Historic Pinto Bean Museum opens next weekend during the annual Harvest Festival inside the Wildlife West Nature Park complex just off Route 66 in Edgewood, N.M.
The museum was funded in part by a grant from the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area. The Harvest Festival weekend starts the evening of Friday, Aug. 26.
Roger Alink, executive director of Wildlife West, said during a telephone interview that the Historic Pinto Bean Museum includes an original pinto bean barn, now used by the park for weddings, dances and other events:
The museum itself sits in a building on the side of the barn. Alink says it contains pinto bean processing machines and tools, a timeline on the historical use of pintos dating to 2000 B.C., and other displays:
Pinto beans have long been a key part of the agricultural economy in central New Mexico. In fact, the nearby Route 66 town of Moriarty hosts a Pinto Bean Fiesta each year. Moriarty also tags itself as the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.
Alink says the museum is accessible to visitors with regular admission fees to the Wildlife West Nature Park.
(Photos courtesy of Roger Alink; hat tip to Duke City Fix)