Mason County Historical Society

05/28/2026

Here's a super fun photo from 1947 showing the Mason County Forest Festival parade looping from Railroad Avenue to Cota Street. It looks a little like Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, (which was real, right?)

05/26/2026

🌲🎉 Headed to the Mason County Forest Festival? Make sure to swing by the museum for a picture-perfect memory! 📸✨

Bring your little loggers, princesses, and parade stars to snap a photo on our adorable kid-sized float! 🚜👑🌸 It’s the perfect stop for family fun and festival smiles.

We can’t wait to see your kiddos strike a pose and celebrate Forest Festival with us!

Photo by Dennis Meurer, 1971 Forest Festival.

05/19/2026

We're so sorry to hear this. Pete was an amazing writer and long time board member of the MCHS. RIP, Pete.

A little more about Pete:

It is with heavy hearts that we that we announce the passing of Mr. Peter J. Replinger this evening. Pete was known far and wide in the Railroad community. He had done it all from engineer, published author of many books to historian. He was a founding board member of our museum, but had recently been in declining health.

Born in 1942, Pete was a lifelong Shelton, Washington resident, author, and esteemed local historian known for his extensive career as an engineer for the Simpson Railroad. A dedicated railroad enthusiast, he spent decades preserving the rich logging and rail history of the Pacific Northwest.

A lifelong rail fan, he began his career with the Simpson in 1963, retiring after nearly forty years of service as a locomotive engineer. He ran the last official trainload out of Camp Grisdale when that company town was closed down, using his steam locomotive #16, at the head of the train.

He later served as a Founding Board Member and Track Superintendent for the Peninsular Railway and Lumbermen's Museum in Shelton, a group formed to preserve the remnants of the last operating logging railroad in the US. He famously drove the ceremonial "golden spike" reconnecting a major gap on the historical Simpson Logging Railroad when the equipment was relocated from the Simpson Mill Site to the present museum location west of town.

Pete authored or co-authored several well researched books detailing the region's rail networks, including the Atlas of South Puget Sound Logging Railroads, Logging to the Salt Chuck, and The Schafer Brothers, Pioneer Loggers of the Satsop Valley. He regularly gave well received talks on local railroad history.

He at times owned and maintained a number of other pieces of rail equipment, including a historic caboose on his personal property along Cloquallum Road in Shelton, which he rented out as a residence.

Pete was definitely a legend who will be missed!

RIP Pete!

05/14/2026

We’re grateful for support from ArtsWA, whose grant funding helps us share more than just heritage at the Mason County Historical Society.

For over a century, Mason County has been home to artists, makers, musicians, and storytellers whose creativity shaped our community. Through exhibits and programs, we work to preserve and share that artistic history alongside the stories of our region.

Thank you, ArtsWA, for helping keep Mason County’s history and arts connected.

05/07/2026

Historic Walking Tour this Saturday! 🌸👣

Join local historian Mike Fredson for the Annual Historic Walking Tour on Saturday, May 9 at 1:00 PM, starting at the Mason County Historical Museum (427 W. Railroad Ave., Shelton).

This year’s tour will be a little more intimate, with attendance limited to just 25 guests for an even more enjoyable experience. Mike will guide participants on a fascinating outdoor walk through Shelton’s rich local history.

💲 Cost:
• $20 for non-members
• FREE for museum members

All proceeds support the museum and its mission to preserve Mason County history.

📞 Advance reservations are required, so call soon to save your spot:
360-426-1020

We’d love to see you there! 😊

04/07/2026

Thanks to Jeff Slakey at Explore Hood Canal for featuring our latest exhibit, "Shaped by the Water", now at the museum!

03/19/2026

Our new exhibit "Shaped by the Water; the Maritime History of Mason County" is up and lacking only a couple of small labels.

This skid road is a example of how the waters of the South Salish Sea helped early industry in Mason County. Always free admission!

03/17/2026

Here's a photo of our great little museum this past snowy Saturday! Let's hope this is the end of the snow pictures for this year.

01/27/2026

We're looking for a photo of the Springwater Tavern in Lilliwaup, which burned in 1979. Dean Thatcher, 46, was found dead at the scene, and the case remains unsolved.

If you have a photo of the building before the fire — even in the background of an old picture, please let us know. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

01/13/2026

Now on view at the Historical Society Museum! Dean Byrd has just completed an incredible scale model of the dramatic final scene from the 1961 movie Ring of Fire. It captures the unforgettable moment when a train stalls high on the burning trestle as the passengers from a nearby town race to escape just before the structure collapses.

The scene is based on the real Wynoochee Trestle, which stood an astonishing 214 feet high. In the film’s climactic finale, the locomotive and two passenger cars plunge into the river below — and remarkably, those wrecked cars still remain in the Wynoochee River to this day.

Dean’s model captures not just the engineering of the trestle, but the tension, danger, and cinematic history of this Mason County legend. A powerful tribute to both Hollywood and our local railroading past.

Admission is always free!