A surprising number of intriguing and entertaining small-town museums stand along the routes to the Inland Northwest’s hiking, biking and boating destinations. These museums offer the outdoor enthusiast a new perspective on the natural areas to which they travel.

The region’s human history dates back thousands of years and is inextricably tied to the natural world. Our forests, waterways, fish and wildlife have supported indigenous communities, settlers, adventurers, towns, and industries.

As a matter of fact, it would be surprising to visit anywhere in the region that does not already have a human story attached to it. Those stories, when known, add depth, meaning, and greater connection to our favorite places.

The museums listed below are all worth a stop. Displays are arranged chronologically and in categories (think arrow heads, baskets, typewriters, household implements, and farm tools). Dioramas are packed with artifacts – sometimes to overflowing.

In addition, on the grounds of the museums below you’ll find cabins, a one-room schoolhouse, fire lookouts, sawmills, a chapel, and a full-sized 1910 house filled with original furnishings and décor.

Keep in mind that these facilities are largely operated on a shoestring budget and managed by volunteers. Small town museums typically begin with family collections and grow largely by happenstance and generosity. Exhibits and labels are crafted over decades, often by local old timers or volunteers, and reflect their own unique perspectives, interests, outlooks, and sensitivities.

Visitors may choose to view exhibits as a starting point for understanding timelines, themes, and historical figures of our region’s history, then take a deeper dive by reading some of the many well-written and researched articles and books out there.

Pend Oreille County Museum Historical Society (Newport, Wash.)

On the way from Spokane to Schweitzer, Sandpoint, Priest Lake, and Lake Pend Oreille, this museum is operated by the Pend Oreille County Historical Society.

It includes artifacts and antiques representing the region’s lifestyles and industry including needlework, household implements, typewriters, cash registers, musical instruments, tools, machinery, and vehicles. There is also an impressive and comprehensive collection of tools used for cutting and managing ice.

Don’t miss the mockups of a sawmill, cabin, fire lookout tower, schoolhouse, and chapel, all of which are walk-in and hands-on.

The museum is located in the historic I. & W.N. Depot Building at 402 S. Washington Ave. in Newport, Wash. Admission is $5 per adult (children free), and hours are Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday 1-4 p.m., and it’s open May 28 through September 5. More info at Pochsmuseum.org.

Wallace District Mining Museum (Wallace, Idaho)

This is a great stop on trips to Lookout Pass, the Route of the Hiawatha, Silver Mountain Bike Park, Fourth of July Pass, or adventures in Montana. The museum at 509 Bank Street is operated by the Wallace District Mining Museum.

Learn about mining history of the Coeur d’Alene Mining District (particularly the large silver mines), geology, methods used for mining over the past century, women and Black miners’ contributions, and the 1910 Big Burn. Cool artifacts include a mine “bicycle.”

Admission is $5 adults with discounts for families, and the museum is open daily from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. More info at Wallaceminingmuseum.com.

Spokane Valley Heritage Museum (Spokane Valley, Wash.)

Visit this museum in the Opportunity Township Hall building at E. 12114 Sprague Ave. as part of a day-trip to the Dishman Hills, Iller Creek, Saltese Uplands, or Antoine Peak trailheads.

Learn about namesakes of some of the area’s popular hiking destinations and natural areas; Hearts of Gold Cantaloupe; the pioneer towns of Opportunity and Spokane Bridge that were razed to make way for I-90; military, and telecommunications, railroads, and early-1900’s school- and home-life.

Don’t miss the 1899 mud shoes fabricated by Peter Morrison for his horses to wear to keep them from sinking into the mud while dredging canals that drained Saltese Lake.

Admission is $6 for adults (discounts for military, seniors, and children), and hours run Wednesday-Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. year-round. More info: Spokanevalleymuseum.com.

Keller Heritage Center (Colville, Wash.)

Take a tour of this museum operated by the Stevens County Historical Society on your next trip to the Colville National Forest, upper Columbia River, or Canada.

Highlights include pre-inundation Kettle Falls and the first bridge crossing the falls; clothing, tools, and implements crafted and used by early indigenous people including regalia, baskets, and arrow heads; the Hudson’s Bay Company and its trapping history; military history including the early U.S. Army installation of Fort Colville; U.S. Border Patrol; regional agricultural, mining, and timber development; Colville’s early 1900’s civic, home, and town life.

Especially cool artifacts include a photo of eels hauled out on rocks of the pre-inundation Kettle Falls, a sturgeon-nosed canoe, and a Nez Perce woven corn husk bottle.

Located at 700 N. Wynne St. in Colville, Wash., admission is $5 for adults with discounts for seniors, people with disabilities, children, and groups. Hours run daily May and September from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and June through August from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday–Thursday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday–Sunday. More info at Stevenscountyhistoricalsociety.org.

Lincoln County Historical Museum (Davenport, Wash.)

On the way to Lake Roosevelt and the Channeled Scablands trailheads, Davenport’s small-town museum is operated by the Lincoln County Historical Society.

It includes early Native tools and implements, mammoth fossils, Pioneer Bottling Works, the story of outlaw Harry Tracy, grain farming then and now, Fort Spokane history and early 1900’s domestic life history, and railroad and bridge building. An especially cool artifact is the humongous horse-drawn thresher used to harvest crops.

Located at 600 7^th Street in Davenport, Wash., suggested admission is $4 for adults and hours run June 7 for the summer from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and Sundays by appointment. More info: Lincolncountymuseums.org.

Originally published as “Exploring the History of the Places Where We Play” in the July-August 2022 print issue.

Tabitha Gregory is a former director of a local history museum and has written about local history topics for Out There. She’s the author of the non-fiction book “Valdez Rises: One Town’s Struggle for Survival After the Great Alaska Earthquake.”

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The Panhandle is home to one of the greatest silver regions in the world, the Coeur d’Alene Mining District in the aptly named Silver Valley of Idaho.

An equally rich bonanza of history permeates the many communities and mine sites of the district. That story is distilled perhaps to its greatest strength in the little mining town of Wallace.

Wallace is one of less than a handful of cities entirely listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It boasts four museums, multiple historical exhibits, an underground mine tour, extensive historic trail system, and walking tours of its old commercial buildings, churches, and grand homes.

A body feels like they have stepped back in time when visiting there. And it’s not just in the architecture or exhibits. It’s also in the attitude of the people. 

Since the city is so small—it has less than 1,000 residents—and corporate America hasn’t yet been able to buy up the place, Wallace still has that friendly small-town vibe.

Heritage Saved

One of the best ways to get a feel for the history of the place is to hop on the Sierra Silver Mine Tour. An open-air trolley will ferry you around the tree-lined residential areas and storied buildings of the commercial district. The driver narrates the trip all the way up to the Sierra Silver Mine. Once there, retired miners will take you through a sideways cut in the mountain for an unforgettable “that’s the way it is” look at the dangers and rewards of mining. Reservations are recommended and can be made ahead of time on their website.

For the story of the people who worked the mines and the struggles they faced, a trip to the Wallace District Mining Museum is a must. Don’t just take our word for it. This tiny museum has been featured twice on the Travel Channel’s Mystery at the Museum series. 

Among the tantalizing stories told there include the district’s bloody mining wars. That strife featured America’s largest mass arrests of civilians, hijacked trains, wild gunfights, blown up buildings, the murder of Idaho’s governor and acquittal of the assassin’s accomplices in the trial of the century. 

Want more? Find three other extraordinary museums within walking distance.  A train station, brothel and landmark church have all been converted into three separate museums featuring the region’s storied past. 

Other musts for history buffs lie on the outskirts of town. The Mine Heritage Exhibit and four-acre riverfront park are just off Exit #61 at I-90. It’s the perfect spot to park, picnic and peruse massive mining machines—including a compressor the size of barn. Nine Mile Cemetery lies just one mile north of Wallace on State Route 456, where 3,000 internees inhabit this other National Register of Historic Places Site. One mile south of town is the Pulaski Tunnel Trail. Also on the National Register, the trail traverses stream, falls and forest to mark the heroism of fire fighters in America’s largest ever wild land fire in 1910.

Heritage Lost

Finally, for the best hands-on perspective on Panhandle mining history, take a drive up Burke Canyon to the now largely abandoned mining towns of Gem, Frisco, Yellow Dog, Mace and Burke. It’s seven miles one way on the paved State Route 4. Find historic markers at the beginning, middle and end of the roadway.

These towns once were home to thousands of miners, dozens of mines, and all the support services and businesses associated therein. Now they have few permanent residents.

Once-bustling Burke in particular is haunting. Scores of abandoned buildings now stand where there were once schools, churches, government offices, ball parks, and a thriving business district.

Burke makes the case for all the efforts to preserve history down the canyon in Wallace. It is a silent witness to what a lack of treasuring one’s history yields: heritage ignored is heritage lost.  

Historic Lodging, Dining, and Shopping

Once back in Wallace, a great way to see how history is still being preserved is to visit the many businesses there. Most have images of the town’s past on their walls.  Two standouts include the local grocery store Harvest Foods with near life-size images above the aisles and Wallace Brewing Co. Its Ore Tasting room is in the old Coeur d’Alene Hardware Store, with dozens of rare images and artifacts on display. The same can be said for next door 1313 Club, Oliver’s Mercantile across the street, and, among our favorites for local memorabilia, North Idaho Trading Co. at the junction at Fifth and Bank Streets.

Sleep on history in the town’s historic lodging properties. In addition to the several vacation rental properties in historic homes, the Ryan Hotel has been in business since 1903. Its lobby is a wonderful mix of turn of the century elegance. Across the way on Cedar Street, spend the night in a former bordello—the Lux is a must for those wanting a real Wallace experience.

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