Owyhee County Historical Museum

Owyhee County Historical Museum The Owyhee County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving Owyhee County's rich history. From mining to ranching and farming.
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The museum was established in 1961 and we continue to grow and excite the next generation. The Owyhee County Museum began in 1961 single item on display and has grown to a 10,000 square foot museum complex and research library that rests on one acre of land with five historic buildings. The Museum strives to preserve and educate future generations of Owyhee Counties history from Mining to Ranching.

Support the Museum and take home so really neat items! The Outpost Days Auction is now LIVE!! The auction run for two we...
05/31/2026

Support the Museum and take home so really neat items! The Outpost Days Auction is now LIVE!! The auction run for two weeks and ends on June 13th at 10pm. Start bidding now and bid often. Remember, all proceeds benefit the museum and all its wonderful projects.

https://outpostauction.afrogs.org/ #/index

One Week from today we will cut the ribbon on the new Pete Rathbone Wrench and Farming collection building! Join us at 8...
05/30/2026

One Week from today we will cut the ribbon on the new Pete Rathbone Wrench and Farming collection building! Join us at 8am for the Buckaroo breakfast and then at 11am we cut the ribbon to our new collection.

Here’s a little look at the stained floor in the Mike Hanley Wagon Barn. It’s not finished yet, but will be soon. We wou...
05/29/2026

Here’s a little look at the stained floor in the Mike Hanley Wagon Barn. It’s not finished yet, but will be soon. We would like to thank Ultimate Concrete for doing this exquisite work and donating some of the cost.

We have some pretty amazing collections here at the museum and our newest collection is the Pete Rathbone Wrench collect...
05/29/2026

We have some pretty amazing collections here at the museum and our newest collection is the Pete Rathbone Wrench collection. This is just a small sample of his collection but these wrenches are some of the most rarest. They are under lock and key as the John Deere wrench can fetch up to $30,000!

Come see all this and more at Outpost Days June 6-7th.

We want to give a shout out to all the companies that have made the Wagon Barn a dream come true. A huge thank you goes ...
05/28/2026

We want to give a shout out to all the companies that have made the Wagon Barn a dream come true.

A huge thank you goes to Rob & Nancy of R&M Steel. Without their support we would not have a building to house this wonderful collection. We also thank Tom Williams of TRW Architects for donating the time to draw up architectural plans for the new building. Larry Williams for donating money to pour the foundation and kick off the project and Ten X Construction for doing the foundation work. Thank you to Ultimate Concrete for staining the floor and JMF Construction that has done a wonderful job building the Barn and getting it ready for Outpost Days.

There are many more people that have helped move this project along and we thank you all! Mike Hanley has been moved by the amount of support being shown for his collection.

05/28/2026

Good Morning from the Museum!

Interior construction is winding down on the Wagon Barn as we move toward staining of the floor. There is still more electrical work to be done next week but the building will be open for Outpost Days. The first wagons are moving in next week and folks we are definitely not done fundraising as the building isn’t complete yet but we are very close!

Thank you again for all the support, Eriks

05/27/2026

Howdy everybody, it’s Owyhee Pete and I am really excited to show you the museum’s new gold panning station all thanks to Integra Delmar. They built us a brand new sluice box and it’s the real deal!
Integra will be bringing down buckets of dirt filled with gold for Outpost Days this year. So all you kids and kids at heart can try your luck at panning for gold. So mark your calendars for next weekend June 6 and 7 for Outpost Days.

KTVB Channel 7 News featured Mike Hanley along with Director Eriks Garsvo about the upcoming wagon collection to the mus...
05/26/2026

KTVB Channel 7 News featured Mike Hanley along with Director Eriks Garsvo about the upcoming wagon collection to the museum.
We are humbled by all the support so far to this Wagon Barn Project. This collection is very special and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate America 250 than having the original wagons that made the American West.

We thank the Western Heritage foundation for getting the footage of the Stagecoach and horses over to channel 7. This 208 feature wonderful.

Keeping history alive is an Owyhee County man who remembers when stagecoaches were the main mode of transportation.

Come and Get it!!! This years Chuckwagon Dinner on Sat. June 6 at 6pm is sponsored by Thomas Cattle Co. out of Oreana, I...
05/25/2026

Come and Get it!!!

This years Chuckwagon Dinner on Sat. June 6 at 6pm is sponsored by Thomas Cattle Co. out of Oreana, ID. This years meal is beef brisket, baked potato salad, bread and dessert.

Its local companies like Thomas that make Outpost Days unique and special. We couldn't do this event without all our wonderful sponsors.

You can get your tickets online before the event by going to our website: https://owyheemuseum.square.site/shop/event-outpost-meals/K66CWNUCRGIJ3Y7PDLP6PWL3?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc

Address

17085 Basey Street
Murphy, ID
83650

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

(208) 495-2319

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