Entry No. 15 — the Durango file — filed under: offbeat-museum
Notah-Dineh Trading Company & Museum
Since 1961 the Leighton family — traders in the Four Corners for four generations — have run this Cortez post, and downstairs they keep a free museum most rug shoppers never find. The centerpiece is Rachel Curley’s 12-by-18-foot Two Grey Hills rug, three years on the loom from 1957 to 1960 and the largest known in that style; the family sold it once and got it back. Around it: old pawn, 1920s kachinas, cradleboards, beaded gauntlets, tomahawks, trading-post relics.
The story
Most people who pull up to 345 West Main Street in Cortez are looking for turquoise rings or handwoven tapestries, completely oblivious to the stairwell tucked inside the showroom. The Leighton family has operated as traders across the Four Corners for four generations, establishing this post in 1961. Downstairs, beneath the commercial counters, they keep a free collection that runs on shop hours rather than institutional museum schedules—and most visitors walk right over it.
The primary reason to head down those stairs is Rachel Curley’s monumental 12-by-18-foot Two Grey Hills rug. She spent three years on the loom between 1957 and 1960 constructing it, producing the largest known weaving ever completed in that classic earth-toned style. The Leightons actually sold the tapestry once, realized what they had parted with, and managed to track it down and buy it back to keep in Cortez permanently.
Surrounding Curley's tapestry is a dense archive of Four Corners history: cases packed with old pawn jewelry, 1920s kachinas, wooden cradleboards, beaded gauntlets, iron tomahawks, and functional relics from early regional trading posts. It feels less like an art gallery and more like a century of local trade history preserved in a quiet basement.
What it's like
Walk through the main commercial showroom and ask staff to direct you toward the basement stairs. There is no ticket counter or velvet rope, and you will likely have the cool basement floor entirely to yourself. Street parking along Main Street is easy, but because the museum keeps store hours rather than tourist hours, you need to make this a daytime stop. It sits about 45 minutes west of Durango on US 160 and roughly 15 minutes west of the Mesa Verde National Park turnoff.
The move: Stand together at the foot of Rachel Curley’s room-sized rug downstairs and count the three years of work in it, then pick out a piece of old pawn from the cases upstairs.
📍 Before you go The museum is downstairs inside the working trading post at 345 West Main in downtown Cortez — walk in through the showroom and ask staff to point you to the stairs. Street parking along Main is easy, and the place keeps shop hours rather than museum hours, so make it a daytime stop. From Durango it is about 45 minutes west on US 160, and the Mesa Verde National Park entrance sits roughly fifteen minutes east of town, which makes the pairing obvious.
- 📍 Cortez
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 345 W Main St, Cortez, CO 81321
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Crow Canyon Archaeological Center — Pair the historical weavings and old pawn trade goods in the basement with a hands-on look at 800-year-old potsherds two miles down the road.
- Creations from Mufflers — Contrast four generations of traditional trading post craftsmanship with Floyd's roadside yard of welded muffler figures four miles north.
- Yucca House National Monument — Compare the preserved 20th-century trading post artifacts inside the basement with a 600-room Ancestral Puebloan village buried under weeds down the highway.
- McElmo Canyon Roadside Boulder Petroglyphs — Follow up the indoor collection of historical artifacts with a drive out to see an ancient petroglyph boulder sitting directly on the road shoulder.
Good to know
Is there an admission fee for the museum?
No, the downstairs museum is entirely free to view, and you do not need to buy anything upstairs in the shop to visit it.
Where is the museum located inside the building?
It is in the basement directly below the trading post at 345 West Main Street. Just walk through the main showroom and ask the counter staff to point you to the stairs.
What makes the Rachel Curley rug notable?
Measuring 12 by 18 feet and taking three years on the loom from 1957 to 1960, it is the largest known weaving in the Two Grey Hills style.
How long is the drive from Durango?
It takes roughly 45 minutes traveling west along US 160 into downtown Cortez.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · uncovercolorado.com · hmdb.org · corteztours.com · wanderwithwonder.com
last checked: 2026-06-11