Museums 101: The Franklin County Historical Society and Museum (Photo Diary)

by Ojibwa for Museums

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Monday, Oct. 07, 2019 Monday, Oct. 07, 2019 at 8:30:14am PDT

The Franklin County Historical Society and Museum in Pasco, Washington, is located in an old Carnegie Library building. The library was constructed in 1911 with a grand from Andrew Carnegie. The building was designed by C. Lewis Wilson of Chehalis, Washington and residents donated the books. In addition to housing books, the library also served as a community meeting place. In 1962, the library was replaced with a new structure.

The Franklin County Historical Society was founded in 1968. In 1980, the Franklin County Historical Society took over the old Carnegie Library building and began restoration work. Volunteers worked for more than two years to convert the building to a museum, refinishing the woodwork and converting the original bookcases into exhibit cases. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

photo P1080004_zpsxcoiw690.jpg — Shown above is a replica of a Presidential Indian Peace Medallion. The Thomas Jefferson Peace Medallion was distributed by Lewis and Clark in the historic 1804-1806 trek through the Pacific Northwest.

photo P1080039_zpsyl9w1nqp.jpg — Large camels—*Camelops hesternus*—once lived in this region. They went extinct at the end of the Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago.

According to the display:

“Camelops hesternus was more closely related to the present-day alpaca and llama branch of the camel family tree. Camelops was one of the true camels—the ancestors of present-day domestic camels known from the deserts around the world.”

The display shown above features the fur trade and David Thompson, a fur trader and map maker who was one of the first non-Indians in the Columbia Plateau area. Thompson and Jaco Finlay were employed by the North West Company to find the Columbia River’s source.