Wood River Museum of History + Culture

09/29/2026

The Sheep Stories Podcast is back with Season 2! Four new episodes are out now, titled “The Land,” “The Community,” “The Ranches,” and “The Dogs.”

The podcast was created this summer by the 2026 Trailing of the Sheep intern Evelyn Laila Holden using the archives at the Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History at The Community Library. Sheep Stories draws on compelling interviews, presentations, and stories collected over the past three decades of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival.

The Community Library Association includes The Community Library in Ketchum, The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History, the Wood River Museum of History + Culture, and the Historic Ernest and Mary Hemingway House & Preserve.



https://www.npr.org/podcasts/fis-1269163989/sheep-stories

09/01/2026

Two chances to dig into Idaho's mining history this week!
Wed, Sep 2 - Join two local historians as they reveal the story of Ketchum's innovative Philadelphia Smelter and a recently discovered painting that helped build the story.
Thu, Sep 3 - The pre-eminent wagon restoration expert, Doug Hansen, will show you Ketchum's Ore Wagons that he restored and the stories behind these wooden wonders!
For more information or to register, go to https://comlib.org/calendar

The Community Library Association includes The Community Library in Ketchum, The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History, the Wood River Museum of History + Culture, and the Historic Ernest and Mary Hemingway House & Preserve.

08/13/2026

As summer begins fading into fall, it reminds us of how big softball was at Sun Valley in the summertime. When Pat "Pappy" Rogers was the general manager for the Union Pacific, apparently almost everything stopped at the resort during staf softball games. Pappy Rogers was deeply competitive and was renowned for shouting "YOU'RE FIRED!!!!" instead of "you're out" at games.... often leading to employees thinking they truly were fired.

Pictured here at a summer game in 1941 are General George C. Marshall (on left in white shirt and tie), Packey Boyle (center) and Pappy Rogers (in vest and hat) face each other during Sun Valley employee softball game, Sun Valley, Idaho. Dorothy Boyle collection.

Does General Marshall's name ring a bell?
If you know much about US History, it might! Marshall served as the U.S. Army Chief of Staff from 1939 to 1945, overseeing the expansion and training of the Army from fewer than 200,000 personnel to over 8 million by the end of the war. His strategic planning and organizational skills earned him the title "the organizer of victory" from Winston Churchill. (And FYI, the Wood River Museum will be opening our newest exhibit in September titled, Words in War: Readers, Writers, and World War II.

The Community Library Association includes The Community Library in Ketchum, The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History, the Wood River Museum of History + Culture, and the Historic Ernest and Mary Hemingway House & Preserve.

08/11/2026

Are there programs on Regional History that you've missed?
The Community Library's archive is here to help! We've gathered the Regional History videos in one place ... Want to learn more about the Yankee Fork mining region or see our 2025 Hall of Fame inductees? Look no further! We've got 40 of our history programs archived.

The Community Library Association includes The Community Library in Ketchum, The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History, the Wood River Museum of History + Culture, and the Historic Ernest and Mary Hemingway House & Preserve.

Join the web’s most supportive community of creators and get high-quality tools for hosting, sharing, and streaming videos in gorgeous HD with no ads.

08/10/2026

We're learning and improving and working diligently to "Bring It!" in our world every day. Next Friday, August 14 all the Library, Museum, and Gold Mine staff will be in an extended training, and all facilities will open later than usual ... at 11:15am. You'll find a link below to our Digital Collection, which you can access free 24/7. https://comlib.org/use-the-library/digital-collections/

08/10/2026

A photo of the Christiania Club in winter, 1938. Jeanne Cutaia Collection, The Community Library.
The Christiania Club was a hub of gambling in Ketchum and served the wealthy clientele of the Sun Valley Resort who could put their gambling tabs on their hotel bill ... payable at check out!

The Community Library Association includes The Community Library in Ketchum, The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History, the Wood River Museum of History + Culture, and the Historic Ernest and Mary Hemingway House & Preserve.

07/23/2026

PUT YOUR PENCILS DOWN!
"A Writer in New Country: Ernest Hemingway in 1939" is closing at the Wood River Museum. De-installation begins Monday to prepare for a brand-new exhibit, "Words in War: Writers, Readers, and World War II."

The last day you'll have access to the current exhibit - including the chance to type "One True sentence" on a Hemingway-esque typewriter - is THIS Saturday, July 25.

The Museum will maintain normal hours through August while we install the newest exhibit. Admission to the Museum is free, 10am-6pm Tuesday-Saturday.
More about the Museum here. https://comlib.org/center-for-regional-history/wood-river-museum-exhibits/

07/11/2026

07/02/2026

We're so excited about the Passport to History - created to help you explore Central Idaho and the museums you can find along the highways and byways!
At the heart of the passport are Audio Driving Tours (that were created in 1998 by the Central Idaho Rockies Association) that guide you from Ketchum/Sun Valley to Stanley to Challis to Salmon to Arco and back to Ketchum. The tours on Bloomberg Connects explore the history, geology and points of interest along the way. In the passport we've also listed all the Museums to be found along the way!
Download your copy from our website or stop into the Wood River Museum to pick up a passport. If you visit all the Museums and get your passport stamps, we'll enter you in a drawing to win prizes.

Idaho Association of Museums Western Museums Association Sun Valley Resort