n May of 1967, benefactors Margaret and Alex Oser donated Fallon’s old Safeway building to Churchill County for use as the county’s museum. The museum opened to the public on July 4, 1968. The museum’s collection of archival and research papers includes bound copies of local newspapers dating from 1904. Deed books, plat books, marriage records, death records, and other city and county records are included in our archives.

The Woodliff Novelty Store has been preserved for over 95 years, and is on display at the Churchill County Museum throughout year.

Clothing, quilts, furniture and other artifacts of everyday life comprise the rest of our collections. Over 18,000 artifacts have been cataloged and information about them entered into the computer, again for easy reference. Each month the museum receives new items to add to the collections. Without the generosity of the community our collections would not grow as rapidly as they have.

In 1991 the museum created an Oral History program. Staffed totally by volunteers, interviewers have recorded more than 100 people as they have recounted their life experiences. The taped interviews have been transcribed and are housed in the research library in the museum. Without the dedication of these volunteers, much valuable information about Churchill County would have been lost.

The museum is open to the public nearly day of the year, and admission is FREE! The building is located at 1050 South Maine Street in Fallon, and our hours are as follows:

On the second and fourth Saturday of each month the museum and the BLM sponsor tours of Hidden Cave, an ancient archaeological site used by the prehistoric Native Americans of this area. Visitors gather at the museum at 9:30 am, see a brief film describing the cave and then caravan to the site. A BLM employee leads the group on a short hike up the hill to the cave. The Grimes Point petroglyph site is also nearby. The tours are free.

For more information on volunteering, serving on the Churchill County Museum Association Board of Trustees, Hidden Cave tours or general questions about the area call the museum at 423-3677. Our website address is www.ccmuseum.org and we can be reached by e-mail at ccmuseum@phonewave.net.