Foothills Historical Museum

Serving Buckley & Carbon River Corridor

Since 1981, the Foothills Historical Society has built its collections and transformed exhibit spaces to enrich visitors and students with a broader understanding of our community's history. The museum is set on the plateau between the Carbon and White Rivers.

Where the Past Meets the Present

In 1892, Buckley became the transportation hub for a booming economy based on logging, coal mining and farming. The coming of the railroad opened up the heavily forested area to farmers, mill workers, miners, and lumberjacks. Settlements filled with a multinational population in company towns like Wilkeson, Carbonado, Hope, Fairfax, Melmont, South Prairie, and Burnett. The Museum is dedicated to telling their stories.

Galleries

Galleries depict life in the early days of statehood. Visit the butcher, the barber, a schoolroom, a general store and a fully functioning printshop. Compare what it was like to work in an 1880's and a 1920's kitchen. A back porch laundry, an Edwardian bedroom, a doctor's office, a dentist's office, a barnyard, and a beauty shop are full of wonderful period artifacts.

Collections

• Telephone exhibit includes a 1940 pay phone booth, Rainier School switchboard and collection of early telephones and cell phones.
• Sad Irons were used before electricity to iron clothes. The museum exhibits one of the largest sad iron collections in the state.
• Toys made before plastic and batteries from 1900 - 1950. See a collection of toy soldiers, dolls, trucks, trains, and more.

Exhibits

• Firefighting Handcart
• Logging and Coal Mining
• Farming and Hop Growing
• Logging Camp in the Park

Current Projects

• Electrical Upgrade to Park Area - Finished
• Log Cabin Restoration Project - Finished (Pierce County Landmark and Historic Places Grant)
• Restoration of Logging Stem Donkey and Hlede Dairy Buggy

Expansion Project

Foothills Historical Society and the City of Buckley funded the work that created a beautiful dining room, lobby and office for the Foothills Museum in Buckley Hall. Renovations were completed in June 2021 and can be rented for events. Information can be accessed through city website.

The Foothills Historical Society Heritage Center in Buckley Hall is now open to the public for local history, tourist information, and help with historical research. A new research library is available on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 12 to 4. Appointments can be made for other times. Call 360-829-1291 or send a message via Facebook/foothillshistoricalmuseum. Check out the Foothills Historical Museum Website.

Your financial support will allow FHS to continue to fund the museum, upgrade the facility and ensure access to artifacts, documents, and images, and the conservation of our collections. The museum is an all-volunteer organization.

The Museum's mission is to preserve the documents and artifacts and educate the public about the origins of our varied communities, our traditions and our dreams, and to develop a facility that allows visits, students and researchers free access to that collection.

Quote From Volunteer

I recently discovered the Foothills Historical Museum. I found a diverse and extremely well-crafted museum of the local history of the White River and Carbonado River Valleys. Set in the charming town of Buckley, surrounded by small farms along the White River. I liked it so much that I returned to become a volunteer."

Please check out the Foothills Historical Museum website.

Board of Directors

• David Griffin, President
• Finn Olson, Vice President
• Dave Battey, Secretary
• Jean Contreras, Treasurer

Board Members

• Sue McCluskey
• Doris Maris
• John Hilding

Advisors

• Curator - Martha Olsen
• Outreach - Sara Sutterfield
• Nancy Stratton
• Meagan Rhoades
• Ann Trullinger
• Nancy Stratton

Board Meetings are held the 1st Monday of the month at Buckley Hall at 11 am. Interested in participation? Please email the Museum for more information.

General Membership Meeting is the 2nd Saturday in March in Buckley Hall at 6 pm.

Museum News

• Village Voices Newsletter - Summer 2025