Washtucna Historical Museum

09/05/2026

A great addition to our WHS collection. (1948)

08/31/2026

To say we were thrilled to receive these from the North Franklin Heritage Museum in Connell is an understatement! All catalogued and ready to be scoured through when we have some spare time. Quick flips through the pages had lots of names we remember.

08/26/2026

Board news:

The board is excited to welcome Wanda Lasen to the team! Thank you for stepping up, you dove right in helping us with our cataloguing project and we appreciate it!

As the community is aware by now, our "I'm not going to be President" vice-president Kriss Bottino is retiring from all things Washtucna at the end of the year.

Structurally, we have to have someone in the President and/or VP position. If it sounds like something you'd like to try your hand at, our next meeting is scheduled for September 25th and you are welcome to stop in and ask questions. We will still be having work days Friday afternoons from 3-6-ish if you'd rather visit informally to get a feel for the vibe. Kriss is working on transitioning the food bank team since we don't want to overwhelm anyone that is willing to step into the lead role. Will that be you? If so, we'd love to meet you!

08/22/2026

We've enlisted a consultant for some planning work on our museum exhibits. We were tasked by our consultant to gather a small group of community members, past and present, to come together and give us a direction to grow our exhibit space towards.

Yesterday was the day! What a wonderful few hours we spent thinking about what Washtucna means to everyone and how we want to share that with our visitors. Thank you to our participants!! Your feedback is invaluable!

07/28/2026

The Mullan Road Sign on Benge-Washtucna Road rides again, thanks to John Rankin/Flying Arts Ranch and the Bar U Ranch! (ADDENDUM to the thanksgiving: Jeff Ashenbrenner , who graciously volunteered to do the roof.)

07/25/2026

The time honored tradition of self expression through yearbook cover!

Surely someone out there has a 1980 yearbook we can add to our collection? Kind of a big year for the area... :)

07/07/2026

From the Washington State Historical Society: While July 4, 1776, may be the day the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, July 8 was the day that the document was first read to the public in Philadelphia.

To commemorate this anniversary is an initiative from the Hawai'i America250 Commission called Sharing the Spirit of America.

On July 8, 2026, people in all 50 states, the five U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, plus Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France (at the grave of the Marquis de Lafayette), Guatemala, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Midway Island, Morocco, New Zealand, Panama, Sweden, Thailand and Wake Island will simultaneously read the Declaration of Independence aloud.

Washington's time will be 3 p.m. (PT) and while many groups around the state will participate, our "official" reading will be in Kennewick with 16-year-old Tanner Headley reading the document at city hall. We are grateful to the Kennewick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for helping organize this event.

If you would like to watch this event, it will be livestreamed on Facebook Live (). You do not need a Facebook account to watch. The recording will also be posted on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Anyone can participate! You can find the full text of the Declaration of Independence at the following link:

Note: The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum). The spelling and punctuation reflect the original.

07/05/2026

Mr. Bassett enjoyed seeing some new faces stop by the museum during Washtucna's annual Independence Day celebration.

Hope everyone had a safe celebration!

06/27/2026

Another great work day this afternoon, the brushes and rollers are getting a workout! 🖌️

Mr. Bassett prepares to join the festivities.