PLUMAS COUNTY MUSEUM

The Plumas County Museum provides visitors and the community with an expansive collection of history starting with collections that date to the 1850s. This museum is the largest thriving historical resource for the Feather River region.

Beyond the exhibits and artifacts derived from around the area, the Plumas County Museum plumasmuseum.org has an impressive collection of archives that span from pre 1850 to present. Everything you want to know about Plumas County has been meticulously collected, cataloged and preserved for community use.

A few of the pieces highlight local historical figures such as a letter written by Peter Lassen who discovered the Lassen Cutoff of the California Trail and left his legacy with Lassen County, California, Lassen National Forest, Lassen Peak and Lassen Volcanic National Park that are named after him.

And there is a daguerreotype and an actual document signed by Jim Beckwourth, the mountain man who is credited with the discovery of Beckwourth Pass through the Sierra Nevada range between present day Reno, Nevada and Portola, California during the California Gold Rush years, and improved the Beckwourth Trail, which thousands of settlers followed to central California.

Within the Museum shelves you’ll find local and regional newspapers, books written by local authors and history books owned by pioneer residents.  Ephemera, such as scrapbooks, postcards, advertising materials and autograph books are also preserved. Not to mention, the large collections of sheet music with local published songwriters.

Making History Everyday

For local school children, the museum provides educational and cultural experiences. Field trips to the museum incorporate living history days complete with gold panning, roping, candle making, cooking on a wood stove and washing clothes on an old-fashioned washboard. It’s a glimpse of real life in Plumas County over 100 years ago.

It’s all here at the Plumas County Museum, so if you haven’t visited then plan to make a trip soon and find out about membership, since the Plumas County Museum is funded through membership and donations.