lynden pioneer museum

Lynden Pioneer Museum is a real hidden gem. It has a great display of life-size rural house, complete with interiors, and life size 'Lynden Main street' with various businesses, all of the latter stocked with their tools of trade. It looks like a town under a roof.Lower floor houses a collection of horse-drawn carriages. For those not very familiar with purposes of these vehicles, most are accompanied by a picture of a modern car designed for similar purpose.The mementos of two World Wars are everywhere throughout the museum. Uniforms, arms, posters and such. Definitely this is a place worth the trip. It tells the story not just of the Northwest, but of the US as a country. It may feel chilly on the lower floor, so dress warm.

Spend a few hours at this museum and you will be treated to an interesting and informative history of Lynden and the surrounding area. Many of the exhibits are replicas of historical shops and businesses. Also an interesting collection of horse drawn buggys and carriages.

This museum contains a wide range of items collected by people in the area. Many items are from the first settlers of the area and include farming, logging, and old merchandise. The museum is a bit of a hodgepodge, but there are many unique items. The upper floor has a farming and logging section and a small "town" with antique artifacts in the "stores" (This area is also used for small concerts and meetings in the "street". Downstairs is a large collection of carriages, wagons, and old cars. A WWII jeep was just added as well as an old army tank. We visited with my grade school kids and they loved poking through and reading about life in the early days of the area. While this is not like the polished big city museums, the displays are nicely done and there is a lot of good information. The gift shop at the entrance has a good collection of kids toys. If you are in Lynden, this is a good way to spend half a day.

This was my second trip to the Pioneer Museum. The collection and area are vast...much more than one would expect. There are several different areas from the beginnings of the the town/area, displays of pioneer homesteads, memorabilia from the World Wars, Korea and Vietnam, collection of wagons and carriages and a replica of the town. Yes, there there is not a "flow" in the museum and it must be hard to keep up with all the dusting of the various exhitbits, but the information contained within is very worthwhile. I spent almost three hours my first time here and my mom enjoyed the exhibits as well. I would recommend to people who enjoy history. The gift shop has a nice assortment of gifts / toys for children.

this museum had it all.it is larger than you think you would need at least two to three hours to really enjoy it.it had little towns set up to show how for example the barber shop or pharmacy might have looked years ago,also they had peoples kitchens parlors and bedrooms on display.they had old cars wagons carts fire engines,you name it they had it.it was really very interesting ,informative ,and I learned a few things I didn't realize.if u are in lynden I would definitely suggest visiting the museum.

We expected to learn about the history of Lynden, but it was a hodge podge museum about everything, but nothing in particular. There was so much stuff and it was not in any order that made sense. It was not cohessive.It was like an estate sale. It was dirty and there were dead flies in the window sills. The workers were very nice and friendly though.If you are in the Lynden area, we would just suggest the antique shops and such around the town.

lots to see, and for visitors of a 'certain age', it brought back lots of memories of times gone by. the staff is quite knowledgeable as well and could answer questions. they also have quite a nice gift shop.

Great gift shop with unique items. Lots of great displays of old cars, dairy and farm history, and information local to Washington. The old-time mainstreet and the miniature displays were great for the kids.

A small store front - opens into a heck of a museum. A was totally surprised to find three floors of museum quality artifacts. On the first floor has a number of exhibits regarding the history of the Lynden area - including logging, military, some Dutch history in the area. Going to the basement a large amount of wagons - from the very small to large delivery wagons - a 1912 thrasher with a steam tractor - some cars - small engines - more then a person absorb. Back up to the first floor in a replica dinner and then a number of shops including a church, funeral parlor, depot (with railroad history). The third floor continues the stores exhibits - you name the store they have a historical exhibits showing items that relate to that type of store. The circus train exhibit seems a bit out of place in a historical museum.

I was very surprised how big the museum is. I did not expect that.Very interesting and I really enjoyed the time there. Well worth to visit.

I have lived in Bellingham and driven past this location for that last seven years but never gone in. My mother was in town and wanted to see “the Dutch town.” I tried to dissuade her. Lynden is nice, but not a destination in and of itself. We go there for the Million Smiles playground and the fair...We walked the length of Front street from west to east to Hannegan/1st street. I was just saying we should cross the street and walk back because we had seen it all when we noted the museum. It looks like there isn't much more than a store front... Boy was I mistaken.Inside is a large building that houses a remarkable collection. The front is occupied exhibits on area dairy, poultry and egg industries. Next we saw exhibits on early settlers and Indian cultures. In the basement they have an extensive collection of wagons, antique cars (including the 1st mass produced GM electric car), and farm implements. Then they have exhibits of memorabilia brought home by local soldiers from WWI, WWII, Korean war and Vietnam. I didn't see anything from from more recent conflicts- desert storm and shield- Iraq or enduring freedom- Afghanistan, I'm sure its just a question of time and space. The finale as they guide you is the passage from a 1950s Soda Fountain out onto an early century main street reconstruction that allows you to look into period shops, pharmacy, dentist, doctors offices and even to see the “upstairs” areas from the merchant shops.The exhibits are comparable to those I have seen in the Smithsonian and Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. The exhibits are comparable to major museums but without the extensive museum curating which made it that much more approachable to me. 90 minutes was enough for a quick run through for two adults who like to stop, look and read. Kids might last that long as there is room to run around on main street. I will go back and I will recommend this to visitors with an interest in history, families with older kids when weather is lousy, and for school field trips.Well done Lynden!

This is one of the best small town museums that we have been to. Inside you can stroll a simulation of the main street of town during the early 20th century. There are antique/classic cars, antique carriages, war memorabilia and much more. The building itself is somewhat historic with an old bank vault in the lobby.

When viewing the museum from the street, it didn't look like much. But my firends have been there before, there were so many things to see inside. Good documentation of the history of the area. Enjoyed the car collection downstairs. Also like seeing the miniature circus upstairs.

This is a great museum. I learned a lot about Whatcom County, and I grew up here! They have lots of antiques and interesting information on the history of the area.

As others have noted, this place is impressive given what they have to work with. It's almost entirely volunteer-run (may be entirely so) and has a limited budget to work with, yet it is packed with history and well-cared-for displays, right down to a full-blown recreation of main street. If I had any criticism it would be that there is just too much stuff for the small space. It felt a little crammed in at times. Definitely worth a visit.