Learn
Methow Valley History, from Lost River to Pateros
History isn't just about the past. Connections across time help us understand and address issues in contemporary life.
Learn with us.
Learn about the Methow Valley's remarkable women!
Visit the site of the Rockview sawmill and surrounding community. But where?
The orginal inhabitants of the Methow Valley and their story.
It wasn't easy getting here before roads & highways & cars. Read this account from author Owen Wister.
View select photos, documents and images from the Shafer Museum's archives online.
Purchase prints or request permission for use by contacting us through the catalog. Then click to pay at our online store.
More Local History
The Shafer Historical Museum shares the history of the Methow Valley during the settlement and homesteading period from about 1880-1940.
For more history in the Methow Valley, we recommend visiting these local sites:
Methow Valley Interpretive Center in Twisp to learn about Native Methow culture, past and present, and the geology, flora & fauna of the beautiful place they, and we, call home. MVIC is located on the Twispworks campus, formerly the US Forest Service Twisp Ranger Station.
North Cascades Smokejumper Base between Winthrop and Twisp, offers seasonal tours of this wildland firefighting base.
Beyond the Methow Valley, visit Okanogan County Historical Society museums in the towns of Okanogan, Conconully, and Molson for more on the pioneers who settled north-central Washington. Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center shares history of Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and region.