We preserve and interpret the 1.5 million years of history of the area, from the explosion of a volcano that shaped our landscape to the explosion of the atomic bomb made in our town that shaped the world both militarily and scientifically. We plan to administer the historic home of Manhattan Project Scientific Director, J. Robert Oppenheimer and open a newly-restored homesteading cabin on our grounds.

Our Historical Society was formed in 1968 to preserve the former guest cottage of the Los Alamos Ranch School, a private log and stone cottage that was part of the core buildings taken by the Manhattan Project under eminent domain to use as the site to develop the atomic bomb for military use during World War II. The Historical Society is now the largest such organization in the state with almost 600 local and nation-wide members. We also have a research archives and have published over 30 books on local history and natural history.