shafer historical museum

here there is so much to see, bring your family and friends and come see the museum, there is so much here that you would never imagine in this small little town, there is so much to do, shopping, food, skiing, hiking, snowmobiling, horse back riding you name it they got it

Fabulous collection of old time lifestyle antiques and photos from the turn of the century. Really well presented and a beautiful location with views above Winthriop

The museum is not open every day so we walked around and saw the displays that were outdoors and looked into the windows.

This museum has a very good collection of old buildings and articfacts of how life was in the old west...... the old school house and clothing store were favourites. There is a lot of history about the town and area and how it was established....very interesting.

We started by walking up from the stairs across from the Rio Vista Hotel and coming across and reading placards about old and huge mining equipment. Interesting but to a limited extent, especially in the hot mid-day sun. It wasn't for another 20 minutes that we found the buildings, which, if we had entered from Castle Ave, would have started our tour. Those buildings hold the real treasure trove, a rich and most fascinating set of artifacts, and the volunteers (we split our visit across two days) were knowledgeable and added to the experience. My favorite was the Waring/Shafer Castle. Today, you could get $400/night for that little mansion of a cabin with the great view! :-) My other favorite was the reproduction(?) of "A Typical Methow Valley House," small, windowless, with a dirt floor and low ceiling. Yeow, that thing was tiny, but the norm for settlers and trappers. What started with mining equipment held so much more. An impressive museum, and a pretty place to bring a sandwich and a brownie from Sheri's Sweet Shop and have lunch under the shade of the tall trees, on the lawn between the buildings.

Whether you are from the Valley or visiting there is a lot of history available and you can spend hours going through this museum.

So fun to take the kids and look at all the history. Very interesting how the town became a western town. You should go there and find out!

This museum is very complete in its display of life when Winthrop was a thriving farm and mining community. It is not large, but it contains authentic buildings from the surrounding community and many local artifacts. The history of the families that settled the area is interesting.

Very interesting, spent quite a bit of time there. They have a lot of antique machinery, furniture etc, an educational visit, worth the time.

This is an outstanding small historical museum with lots of fine exhibits and information on early days in Winthrop and the Methow Valley - an area rich in history. $3 donation and certainly worth it.

I liked the exhibits and the huge amount of antiques the owners have collected. We found a little white kitten there that followed us around, and you need only leave a donation to go to it. We went twice and played around there.

Very well laid out cabins around a grass centre displaying the various trades etc that would have been in business 150 years ago. There was also a display of a typical gold mining operation from years ago

An extraordinary view of pioneer history. The exhibits are beautifully done and one leaves with a thorough educational experience. No fees but a minimum $2 donation is asked for - it's worth more. It was some hearty folks who settled the Methow Valley.

This place was not what I expected. Rather than a dusty old museum this is a collection of original buildings and artefacts from the Old West 100 years past. The pieces of history stored on these lovely grounds overlooking the valley are surely worth a visit on any trip to Winthrop. You could spend an hour or spend five. Just remember to make a donation!

This museum is a block up from the main street and is a terrific slice of history. Built around the original Shafer house, it has everything from a one room school, blacksmith shop, mining equipment and a shop with a Rickenbacker car (extremely rare and being worked on). My favorite was the old cabin brought down from the hills, it gives an eerie feeling of a simple life back in the day. The amazing part is that this museum of this quality is built, run and kept by local volunteers! Donation entrance fee..