Nearby Counties Hold Rich Heritage

On a sunny Friday in July, I headed west on Highway 2 for the Washington State Genealogical Society conference in Wenatchee. This was a doubly special trip, however, for I had planned and allowed time for visits to the Lincoln County and Douglas County historical museums.

The Lincoln County Museum in Davenport houses an extensive collection of memorabilia illustrating the homestead days of Lincoln County in the 1880s.

Among the many household and farm items displayed, I was particularly drawn to a White Frost round icebox (who can remember those?). The museum also has a large collection of photographs. Family histories are constantly being added as local families submit their stories and scrapbooks. Some pioneer family names include Reinbold, Kick, Long, Spinning and Sawyer.

Curator Anita Franklin happily stands ready to help visiting descendants of the pioneer settlers, or even sight-seeing genealogists. Call her at the museum at (509) 725-6711.

The Lincoln County Historical Museum, at Seventh and Park, is open May 1 to Sept. 30, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

Further west on Highway 2 is the charming town of Waterville, first platted in 1886. The Douglas County Historical Museum sits on the highway, near the historic Waterville Hotel, built in 1903.

Will Schluenz started the museum in 1959 for his rock collection, and in his will left the property to become the county museum.

Some personal items belonging to Chief Joseph are included in the Native American collection housed in the building’s 1991 addition.

Helen Grande, a curator at the museum for nearly 20 years, showed me a portion of their photograph collection with its 2,000-plus photos of early pioneers and settlers and their families, local events and buildings. She pointed out a large collection of scrapbooks, including one of the Badger Mountain Ski Club, active from 1939 to 1953.

In the museum’s main room is a hanging poster display. Each poster represents a pioneer or early settler family. The families’ descendents create and maintain the portraits.

Some pioneer families are Larsen, Rudd, Wainscott, Eggers, Ferrell, Burke, Burton, Domrese, Lovejoy, Whitehall, Olin, VanDoren, Basel, Baumgardner, Ogle, McKay, Fetcher, Yockey, Slusser, Toler, Supplee, Jones, Kamholtz, Firoved, McGrath, Weir, Pedersen, Richards, Pattie, Robins, Manke, Waters, Steiner, Gritsch, Rogers, Case, Aymance, Braun, Hummell and Garrett.

“Beginnings,” a short history of Waterville, is sold for $10 at the museum. I found this story, dated 1898, in that book:

“The crisp atmosphere around and about Waterville has been heavy with blasphemy the past week. City Attorney Canton had a toothsome looking duck, dressed and ready for the baking pan, hung out in the cool night on a nail on his back porch. Mr. Canton retired, his thoughts dwelling pleasantly upon the feast for the morrow. Awful was his wrath at stepping out his door the next morning at the sight of the empty nail.”

The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, including holidays, from Memorial Day through late September. Call (509) 745-8435, or write to the Douglas County Historical Society at P.O. Box 63, Waterville, WA 98858.

If you have ancestry in Lincoln or Douglas counties, or would simply enjoy a historical outing, there are two good bets for a fun day’s trip.

, DataTimes MEMO: Donna Potter Phillips welcomes letters from readers. Write to her at The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. For a response, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Donna Potter Phillips The Spokesman-Review