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User:Shortiefourten/Lewis County Historical Society and Museum

Coordinates: 46°40′18″N 122°58′16″W / 46.67167°N 122.97111°W / 46.67167; -122.97111 (Burlington Northern Depot)
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Lewis County Historical Society and Museum
Burlington Northern Depot
Burlington Northern Depot, Chehalis, 1910s
Location599 NW Front Street, Chehalis, Washington
Coordinates46°40′18″N 122°58′16″W / 46.67167°N 122.97111°W / 46.67167; -122.97111 (Burlington Northern Depot)
Arealess than one acre
Built1912 (1912)
WebsiteLewis County Historical Museum
MPSChehalis MPS
NRHP reference No.74001967[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 6, 1974

The Lewis County Historical Society and Museum, also known as the Burlington Northern Depot, is located in Chehalis, Washington.[2]

History

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The former Northern Pacific Railway depot that opened in 1912 was renamed the Lewis County Historical Society and Museum.[3] Following renovations to save the building following its closure in 1972, the museum celebrated its grand reopening on September 18, 1979, with a five-day festival.[4] The depot was recognized with placement on the NRHP list in 1974.[5] Since 2019, the building has been hosting a live camera feed of the train tracks behind the building.[6]

McKinley Stump

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Located at the Lewis County Historical Museum is the McKinley Stump, a replica of a 6 foot (1.8 metres) tall remnant of a Douglas fir cut down in 1901 near Pe Ell. Dated between 360 and 700 years old, it was meant to be used as a speech pedestal for President William McKinley, but the event was cancelled. Theodore Roosevelt used it two years later and William H. Taft employed the stump as a podium in 1907. The artifact was originally placed in downtown under a pagoda, but was moved to the railroad depot and then to Recreation Park after damages due to arson in the late 1940s. After an infestation of carpenter ants and subsequent rot, the stump was removed from the park in 2007 and a replica stump, cut from Tenino, was installed at the museum in 2008 with a restored pagoda and a display of an undamaged slab of the original stump.[7][8]

Features

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The museum hosts several distinct rooms and areas pertaining to the history of railroads, timber, Native Americans, and early pioneer life in Chehalis. The building also includes a research library and a model train display.[9]

Events and festivals

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The museum has been part of the Chehalis Flying Saucer Festival, an event that honors the city's connection of the 1947 Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting.[10] Held since 2019, it features a "saucer drop", candy and gift-filled cardboard flying saucers that celebrated the 1947 flying disc craze, and was once a part of Chehalis's "Krazy Days", an annual festival now known as ChehalisFest.[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Burlington Northern Depot". National Park Service. Retrieved November 4, 2024. With accompanying picturesPublic Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Seattle Times staff (October 5, 2006). "Lewis County Historical Museum". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Rush, Jessica (February 1, 2020). "Up in the Attic at the Lewis County Historical Museum". Lewis Talk. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "National Register of Historic Places". National Park Gallery. National Park Service. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  6. ^ Nailon, Jordan (November 1, 2019). "Cameras Now Broadcasting Twin City Train Traffic". The Chronicle. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  7. ^ "Different stump, same memories". The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 19, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  8. ^ Stein, Alan J. (October 17, 2013). "The McKinley Stump in Chehalis is removed on October 23, 2007". HistoryLink. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  9. ^ The Chronicle staff (April 27, 2007). "Enjoy Some Roadside History". The Chronicle. p. 14. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  10. ^ Girgis, Lauren (October 20, 2024). "In WA, a hot spot for UFO sightings, people still want to believe". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Sexton, Owen (February 2, 2024). "Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest returning this September for Chehalis Flying Saucer Party; entries accepted through August". The Chronicle. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  12. ^ The Chronicle staff (September 18, 2019). "Flying Saucer Party Lands in Chehalis". The Chronicle. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
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