Featured Destination Story

Priest River Museum and Timber Education Center

Priest River, ID

The Priest River Museum and Timber Education Center, nestled in the heart of Priest River, Idaho, offers visitors a captivating journey through the region's rich logging and timber heritage. Housed in a beautifully restored 1895 homestead house, the museum showcases an impressive collection of artifacts, photographs, and exhibits that chronicle the industry's impact on the town and its surrounding communities. Stepping inside, visitors are transported back in time as they explore the displays, which include antique logging tools, vintage photographs of lumberjacks and sawmills, and interactive exhibits that demonstrate the process of timber harvesting and processing.

One of the museum's highlights is the expansive outdoor exhibit area, where visitors can marvel at a variety of antique logging equipment, including a steam-powered donkey engine, a Shay locomotive, and a Caterpillar tractor. These massive machines, once used to haul logs through the forests, stand as a testament to the ingenuity and hard work of the early loggers who shaped the region's landscape. Visitors can also explore a replica of a logging camp, complete with bunkhouses, a cookhouse, and a blacksmith shop, offering a glimpse into the daily lives of the men who worked in the woods.