Geronimo Springs Museum

{{Short description|Regional museum in New Mexico}}

File:Geronimo Springs Museum Truth-or-Consequences-NM.jpg

File:Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway - Mimbres Pottery Exhibit - NARA - 7718601.jpg exhibit at the museum]]

The Geronimo Springs Museum is a small regional museum located in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.{{cite journal |last1=Niederman |first1=Sharon |title=On the trail of Geronimo |journal=Sunset Magazine |date=November 1999 |volume=203 |issue=5 |page=46}} It is named after Geronimo Hot Springs, one of numerous hot springs in the Hot Springs Artesian Basin.{{cite web |title=Geronimo Springs Museum |url=https://sierracountynewmexico.info/attractions/geronimo-springs-museum/ |publisher=Sierra County New Mexico |access-date=4 January 2022}} The springs were named after the Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo (1829–1909) from the Bedonkohe band of the Apache people.{{cite news |last1=Greene |first1=Granville |title=Geronimo soaked here |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/travel/05Surfacing.html |access-date=4 January 2022 |publisher=The New York Times |date=3 October 2008}}{{cite book |last1=Gersh-Young |first1=Marjorie |title=Hot Springs and Hot Pools in the Southwest |date=2011 |publisher=Aqua Thermal |location=Santa Cruz, California |isbn=978-1-890880-09-5 |pages=106–111}}

The museum exhibits feature collections of fossils, photographs, artifacts and pottery (mainly Mimbres and Tularosa from 200 AD to 1350 AD), that present a comprehensive historical view of Sierra County and its inhabitants over time. A historical miner's cabin is on the premises that was moved from the Black Range mountains nearby. In addition to the collection of Mimbres pottery, other historical objects include Apache artifacts, Hispanic artifacts, military objects, and mining and ranching exhibits.{{cite web |title=Geronimo Springs Museum |url=https://www.museumeta.com/US/Truth-or-Consequences/211819521164/Geronimo-Springs-Museum |publisher=MuseoMeta |access-date=4 January 2022}} The museum also contains a display about Ralph Edwards, the host of the radio and television game show, Truth or Consequences, for which the town was renamed (formerly Hot Springs, New Mexico).{{cite news |title=A reconstructed miner's cabin is among the features of the Geronimo Springs Museum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/296990511/? |access-date=4 January 2022 |publisher=Albuquerque Journal |date=30 April 2017}} Edwards relocated to the town in 1950 to host the show locally. The museum was co-founded in 1972 by Ann Welborn who remembers meeting several movie stars who were on the show.{{cite news |title=The Quirky Torque of T-or-C: Geronimo Spring Museum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/208113210/ |access-date=4 January 2022 |publisher=Santa Fe New Mexican}}

In 2021, a representation of Geronimo was stolen from the museum facade.{{cite news |last1=Keys |first1=Allison |title=Truth or Consequences Police Dept. searches for stolen museum figure |url=https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/truth-or-consequences-police-dept-searches-for-stolen-museum-figure/ |access-date=4 January 2022 |publisher=KRQE |date=14 December 2021}}