Museum of Winchester

The Museum of Winchester History, begun in 1965, was a project of the Winchester Booster Club when the Craig Mountain Lumber Company closed. The Museum languished until 2003 when the City Council encouraged a group of citizens to form a Board of Directors, survey the 2000 artifact collection and determine Museum viability. Seeking professional assistance and foundation support, the newly formed Board of Directors accessioned the collection, began the conservation process, received funds to train volunteers to interpret the collection, painted the historic Community Center which houses the Museum, mounted a museum membership drive, received support from the Forest Service and the National Park Service to install an adjacent firewise native-plant landscape and with the assistance of the National Park Service grant is developing a Lewis and Clark auto tour of Ordway's search for salmon. Support from the City of Winchester, the Idaho Heritage Trust, the Idaho Humanities Council, the Rural Community Assistance grant from the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Idaho Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, the Smithsonian’s Key Ingredients traveling exhibit from the Museum on Main Street and the Idaho Humanities Council, and several corporate supporters and members have underwritten the expense of materials for the Museum.