Vancouver, WA

An important part of old town Vancouver’s history—you may have noticed that I like history—is the Clark County Historical Museum on Main street. This first photo was taken before the huge and beautiful old elm out front had to be removed due to terminal root-rot.

This tiny tree is a sapling, freshly-planted as a replacement for the elm. There is a commemoration planned for the old tree, which will include items made from its wood.

Take a look at the hours, posted next to the front door. I’m glad we allowed plenty of time; there’s so much to see! We’re here on a Saturday, so there’s lots of available, and free, parking, but on a weekday it might be more difficult, since all the parking is on-street and metered.

Remember, no cameras are allowed in the museum, because the materials on display here are old and could be damaged by the flash.
On the main floor, the old general store exhibits turn-of-the-century packaging, wooden boxes and blue-glass canning jars with zinc or glass lids. Some things haven’t change that much; there are old-style packages for products still available today, like C&H sugar and Calumet Baking Powder. But you can’t find “Putnam Fadeless Dye” anymore. The store houses a post office counter, too, with bars in the window and behind glass, numbered PO boxes, so you could see if you had any mail.
In an old-fashioned kitchen like this there would be no hot water, unless you heated it on the beautiful blue and silver wood-burning cook-stove. Instead of a sink, there’s a wash stand with a marble top and on it, a bowl and pitcher. Pretty, yes, but I think I’ll keep my dishwasher and microwave.
The doctor’s office displays an operating table about four feet long (just for kids, or were people way shorter then?). On the table rests an instrument-sterilizer and a “bone saw.” Ew! I prefer the store!
The museum has a wonderful collection of First Nations basketry representing techniques and materials used from Alaska to California. Just a few of the materials used in basket construction are maiden hair ferns, cattails, and both cedar bark and root. All-natural dye materials included tree barks, wild berries, lichen, roots, and charcoal.
The last section of the museum was walled off to create an exhibit about the Baby Boom generation, “Boomers.” It will start June sixth. There’s more info about this exhibit and others at The Clark County Historical Museum website.

The museum is not only historical, but also historic. It was built to be Vancouver’s Library. Look above the door to see how the building was named. However, it’s been over 40 years since this building housed the public library
There’s a historical research library in the basement, though, with documents that span from the 1850’s to the present.
Also in the basement is the Vancouver Grid Project exhibit. It consists of photos taken by Mountain View High School students of places and things in Vancouver that they thought would be gone in ten years.
There are restrooms in the basement, too, and recently-added accessibility, including an elevator.

The museum is located at 1511 Main Street; here, we’re looking at the museum from the northwest. To reach the museum from I-5, take the Mill Plain exit and head west to main street, then north. The museum is on the east side of the street. Here is the
GoogleMaps page. Enjoy!