The Pend Oreille County Historical Society

The Pend Oreille County Museum is operated and maintained by the Pend Oreille County Historical Society, Inc. an all-volunteer, non-profit 501c3 organization.

The museum complex consists of the historic I. & W. N. Depot Building built in 1908 which houses the gift shop and displays on the first and second floors. The adjoining Stuart B. Bradley Memorial Building, built with private funds, was dedicated in 1994. The main floor houses various displays including a military display, the research department and library.  Downstairs is a meeting room, storage and administrative office.

On our grounds are three log cabins, all of which were taken apart at their original locations, logs numbered and then reconstructed on the museum grounds. They are the Claire Howe Schoolhouse, the Settler's Cabin and the Hunter's Cabin. The Society also has a replica of a fire lookout constructed using Forest Service blueprints. 

In 2014, the Clark Family Sawmill was dedicated and opened for display. The equipment shed has numerous displays of tools, farm machinery, a washing machine display, and a logging camp bunkhouse replica. We also feature an ice house and root cellar, both of which were original old buildings that were torn down then reassembled on museum grounds.

A Pioneer Church that was built from scratch but used the original stained glass windows from the first Catholic church in Newport. The main exhibit in our railroad display is a Burlington Northern metal caboose. Large farm machinery is also located on the grounds. The museum grounds are adjacent to Centennial Plaza where The Big Wheel, a Reynolds Corliss Engine, can be seen from the street. The engine was built in 1909 and ceased operation in 1964. It had powered the various mills that operated in the same location over the years. The Diamond Lumber Corporation donated the wheel to the City of Newport in 1964 and the City recently donated it to the Historical Society.

The Society also maintains the two-story log Lindsey House on the County Fairgrounds at Cusick, Washington. The House was dismantled and moved from Skookum Creek and re-erected on the Fairgrounds. It is fully furnished and is open for visitors during the Pend Oreille County Fair in late summer.