Famous Boyd Horseshoe collection on display in Breckenridge

The Breckenridge Heritage Alliance and the Summit Historical Society recently announced that the William W. Boyd Horseshoe Collection will be on display at the Edwin Carter Museum in Breckenridge. William W. Boyd was a blacksmith, fire chief and mayor of Breck during the late 1800s.

The collection, noted by historians as one the finest horseshoe displays in the world, consists of 101 horseshoes, an ox shoe and a miner's candleholder. The horseshoes display a wide array of sizes, shapes and function, from tiny colt shoes to huge draft horseshoes, corrective shoes and specialty shoes for ice and mud.

"To have as intricate a collection as the Boyd Horseshoes is an invaluable historic asset for Breckenridge," said Linda Kay Peterson, acting executive director. "It's one of few of its kind that exists."

Boyd was a blacksmith and farrier in Breckenridge between 1886 and 1904. His shop was located at the corner of North Main Street and Wellington Avenue. A blacksmith of extraordinary skill, he also speculated in mining, served as the chief of Breckenridge's Fire Department in 1899 and was elected mayor in 1902.

The W.W. Boyd Horseshoe Collection was donated to the Summit Historical Society in 2000 by the Estate of Lauretta Boyd, William Boyd's daughter. The Edwin Carter Museum is located at 111 N. Ridge St. and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.