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You are here: Home / Collections / Museums

Museums

This list of museums and interpretive sites in Idaho is organized region and county as follows:

  • Museums in Central Idaho: Includes Blaine, Butte, Camas, Custer, and Lemhi Counties
  • Museums in Eastern Idaho: Includes Bannock, Bear Lake, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida, and Power Counties
  • Museums in North Central Idaho: Includes Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis, and Nez Perce Counties
  • Museums in Northern Idaho: Includes Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, and Shoshone Counties
  • Museums in South Central Idaho: Includes Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls Counties
  • Museums in Southeast Idaho: Includes Bingham, Bonneville, Clark, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison, and Teton Counties
  • Museums in Southwest Idaho: Includes Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Valley, and Washington Counties
  • Organizations and Associations
  • Historical Markers

 

EBR-1 Nuclear Reactor. Photograph taken by Veedar during a road trip across America in early 2001. Veedar {Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EBR-1_2001.jpg

Museums in Central Idaho

Blaine County

  • Blaine County Historical Museum
  • Sawtooth Botanical Garden – This garden is a place to learn about high altitude gardening.
  • Regional History Museum – This museum is in the historic Forest Service Park and is administered by The Community Library in Ketchum.

Butte County

  • Experimental Breeder Reactor-1 (EBR-1) Atomic Museum – Visit the Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 at the Idaho National Laboratory!

Camas County

  • Historic Camas County Railroad Depot Museum – Administered by the Camas Historical Society

Custer County

  • Stanley Museum and Ice House

Lemhi County

  • Lemhi County Historical Society & Museum
  • Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural & Educational Center – Features educational and cultural programs and a large outdoor area.

Museums in Eastern Idaho

Bannock County

  • Bannock County Historical Museum
  • Fort Hall Replica
  • Idaho Museum of Natural History, Idaho State University
  • Museum of Clean
  • South Bannock County Historical Center and Museum

Bear Lake County

  • National Oregon/California Trail Center – This interpretive center also houses The Rails and Trails Museum and a community theater.

Caribou County

  • Chesterfield Historic Town Site

Franklin County

  • Franklin Historic District

Oneida County

  • Oneida County Pioneer Museum

Power County

  • Power County Historical Museum

Lochsa Historical Ranger Station. Photograph by Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD taken September 10, 2007. [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LOCHSA_HISTORICAL_RANGER_STATION.jpg

Museums in North Central Idaho

Clearwater County

  • Clearwater Historical Museum – This museum houses and shares information about Clearwater County. Topics include logging, mining, Lewis and Clark, and the history of the Nez Percé people.
  • J. Howard Bradbury Memorial Logging Museum
  • Wieppe Discovery Center

Idaho County

  • Historical Museum at St. Gertrude – This museum administered by the Benedictine sisters of the Monastery of St. Gertrude.
  • Lochsa Historical Ranger Station Museum

Latah County

  • Appaloosa Museum & Heritage Center – Learn about the history of the Appaloosa horse.
  • Kendrick Museum: Juliaetta-Kendrick Heritage Foundation
  • McConnell Mansion – This museum in the McConnell mansion is administered by the Latah County Historical Society. The Centennial Annex houses the historical society’s archival materials.
  • University of Idaho Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

Lewis County

  • Kamiah Valley Museum
  • Museum of Winchester History

Nez Perce County

  • LCSC Center for Arts and History
  • Nez Perce County Historical Museum
  • Spalding Visitors Center

Sacred Heart Church in Old Mission State Park in Idaho. Photo by Vatsun at en.wikipedia [CC BY 3.0] photograph taken April 2, 2008.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cataldo_Church.JPG

Museums in Northern Idaho

Benewah County

  • Hughes House Museum

Bonner County

  • Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center – Includes the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
  • Priest Lake Museum
  • Priest River Museum and Timber Education Center

Boundary County

  • Boundary County Museum

Kootenai County

  • Coeur d’ Alene’s Old Mission State Park/Cataldo Mission – This site is administered by the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation. The Mission’s Sacred Heart Church opened for services in 1853.
  • Crane House Museum
  • Pappy Boyington Veterans Museum (Pappy Boyington Field Museum) – Learn about the museum’s collections through their YouTube channel.
  • Museum of North Idaho
  • Treaty Rock – This rock is a historic artifact preserved by the City of Post Falls Parks Division. Settler Fredrick Post and Chief Seltice of the Coeur d’ Alene Tribe signed a treaty directly on this rock in 1871.
  • Museum at the Brig at Farragut State Park

Shoshone County

  • Captain John Mullan Museum
  • Crystal Gold Mine
  • Northern Pacific Depot Railroad Museum –
  • Oasis Bordello Museum
  • Shoshone County Mining & Smelting Museum at the Staff House – “Our mission is to preserve the mining, smelting and cultural history of North Idaho’s Silver Valley.”
  • Sierra Silver Mine Tour
  • Sprag Pole Museum
  • Wallace Mining District Museum
Bob’s Museum, Rock and Gift Shop, Bliss, Idaho. Margolies, John, photographer. Storefront, Bob’s Museum, Rock and Gift Shop, I-84, Bliss, Idaho. Bliss Bliss. Idaho United States, 2004. Photograph. loc.gov/item/2017705614

Museums in South Central Idaho

Cassia County

  • Cassia County Historical Museum
  • Oakley Valley Historical Museum

Gooding County

  • Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument –
  • Hagerman Valley Historical Museum – Includes exhibits on adventurers, settlers, and native peoples, in addition to Pilocene era fossils.

Jerome County

  • Idaho Farm and Ranch Museum
  • Jerome County Historical Museum
  • Minidoka National Historic Site – Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. It allowed the U.S. government incarcerate Japanese, German, and Italian Americans. Japanese Americans were removed from their homes and sent to camps, including this camp in Idaho. It is now a National Historic Site administered by the National Park Service.

Lincoln County

  • Lincoln County Historical Museum
  • Shoshone Bird Museum of Natural History, and Idaho’s Mammoth Cave

Minidoka County

  • Minidoka County Museum

Twin Falls County

  • Herrett Center for Arts and Science – This center at the College of Southern Idaho focuses on anthropology and natural history.
  • Rock Creek Station and Stricker House
  • Twin Falls County Historical Museum – Check out the museum’s online photo gallery.

Potato Sign at the Idaho Potato Museum. Photograph by KRRK at English Wikipedia [CC0] taken August 27, 2011. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IdahoPotatoMuseumPotato.jpg

Museums in Southeast Idaho

Bingham County

  • Bingham County Historical Society Museum
  • Idaho Potato Museum

Bonneville County

  • Collector’s Corner Museum
  • Museum of Idaho

Clark County

  • Heritage Hall Museum

Fremont County

Jefferson County

  • Farnsworth TV & Pioneer Museum

Madison County

  • Legacy Flight Museum – This museum maintains a collection of airworthy, historic military airplanes.
  • Museum of Rexburg – Includes the Teton Flood Exhibit.

Teton County

  • Teton Aviation Center Warbird Collection
  • Teton Valley Historical Museum

Union Pacific Railroad Station, Nampa, Idaho, 2004. Margolies, John, photographer. Union Pacific Railroad Station now a museum, overall view, Nampa, Idaho. Idaho Nampa Nampa. United States, 2004. Photograph. .loc.gov/item/2017702745

Museums in Southwest Idaho

Ada County

  • Basque Museum and Cultural Center
  • Boise City Department of Arts & History – This city department archives and supports the artistic heritage of Boise. Their projects include the James Castle House which has been turned into a showcase for the artist’s work.
  • Discovery Center of Idaho! – Experience science exhibits paired with hands-on learning.
  • Idaho Black History Museum
  • Idaho Botanical Garden
  • Idaho Military Museum/Idaho Military History Museum – This museum is located at Gowen Field. Includes the new Gowen Field Memorial Park.
  • Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology
  • JUMP tractor tours – Vintage tractors are scattered across the Jack’s Urban Meeting Place (JUMP) space in Boise. Information about each tractor is available on the JUMP web page.
  • Lincoln Legacy Exhibition
  • Old Idaho Penitentiary Site is part of the Idaho State Historical Society. Includes a variety of exhibits including penitentiary history.
  • Idaho State Archives Abraham Lincoln Exhibit

Adams County

  • Council Valley Museum
  • Central Idaho Historical Museum

Boise County

  • Idaho City Historical Foundation – Includes the Boise Basin Museum, the Pon Yam Museum and Cultural Center, the Historic Buildings Block, Brogan and Naylor Parks, and the Strauss House with the Kenn Smith Garden.
    Boise Basin Museum. Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, James A Pinney, S C Silsby, Mary Hornberger, and City Of Idaho City. Post Office Block, Northwest corner of Wall & Montgomery Streets, Idaho City, Boise County, ID. Boise County Idaho Idaho City, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. loc.gov/item/id0024

Canyon County

  • Fort Boise Replica/Old Fort Boise Park
  • Nampa Train Depot Museum, Canyon County Historical Society
  • Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History – The College of Idaho’s natural history museum focuses on the area of southwestern Idaho, southeastern Oregon and northern Nevada.
  • Our Memories Indian Creek Museum
  • Warhawk Air Museum – This museum is housed in an air hanger. Its collection includes personal items and narratives, and historic aircraft.

Elmore County

  • Glenns Ferry Historical Museum
  • Mountain Home Historical Museum

Gem County

  • Gem County Historical Village Museum

Owyhee County

  • Owyhee County Historical Museum
  • Lawson’s Emu-Z-Um

Payette County

  • Payette County Museum

Valley County

  • Valley County Museum

Washington County

  • Snake River Heritage Center (SRHC) – Housed in Hooker Hall on the campus of the old Intermountain Institute.
Museum in Cambridge Idaho, 1990. Margolies, John, photographer. Museum, Cambridge, Idaho. Cambridge Cambridge. Idaho United States, 1990. Photograph. loc.gov/item/2017708881

Organizations and Associations

  • Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM)
  • VisitIdaho.org
  • Idaho Association of Museums. Check the museum’s hours before visiting. Many of these museums are closed in the winter.
  • History in Idaho State Parks
Photograph of Highway Marker. Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Jesuit Brothers, Anthony Ravalli, Huybrechts, Caruana, Joset, and Cataldo. Interstate 90 & Interchange 39, Cataldo, Shoshone County, Idaho, 1933. loc.gov/item/id0020

Historical Markers

  • Learn about roadside historical markers in the Idaho Historical Marker Guide (PDF)
  • Historical Marker Database (HMDB)
  • Evans, Tony Tekaroniake. “Decolonizing Idaho’s Historical Markers.” High Country News. Vol. 53, No. 11. November 1, 2021.

 

This page updated by Ronnie Joiner on March 14, 2022.

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