Northwest Carriage Museum

Since its grand opening in 2002, this local history museum has been home to one of the most extensive collections of horse-drawn vehicles and related artifacts in the United States. The museum presents beautiful and informative displays their collection of over sixty carriages, sleighs, wagons, and buggies. Five of the museum's vehicles were used in classic movies such as "Gone With the Wind" and "Virginia City." The museum also includes an interactive area that's fun for all ages, as well as a gift shop and visitor info center.

The Northwest Carriage Museum opened its doors in 2002 thanks to the generous donation of 21 horse-drawn vehicles by local residents Gary and Cec Dennis. With this collection a nonprofit was formed, grants were pursued to construct a building to house the collection, and Western Washington became the home of this unique museum that explores all aspects of the history of horse-drawn transportation.

In recent years museum Curator, Jerry Bowman, has worked to more than triple the size of the Dennis family's original collection of vehicles. The museum now offers over sixty vehicles for visitors to see, in addition to a new section of the building that was added in 2015. "The Barn," as this new section is fondly named, added 3,900 square feet of additional display space that has accommodated the museum's impressive growth.

In addition, other Museum exhibits include an 1890s one-room schoolhouse, a wheelwright display, a reproduction wagon for guests to climb aboard, period clothing, artifacts, pictures, gift shop, and visitor info display. The Museum has also earned a national reputation for carriage knowledge including historical and restoration information.

Williams, Mike. Vintage workhorse: Carriage Museum creates space for vehicles that earned a living. Daily Astorian. May 01, 2015. Accessed July 25, 2017. http://www.dailyastorian.com/friday-extra/20150501/vintage-workhorse-carriage-museum-creates-space-for-vehicles-that-earned-a-living.