Wednesday, June 18, 2025
66.0°F

Post Falls Museum, staffed by volunteers, opens for season

KAYE THORNBRUGH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years AGO
by KAYE THORNBRUGH
Kaye Thornbrugh is a second-generation Kootenai County resident who has been with the Coeur d’Alene Press for six years. She primarily covers Kootenai County’s government, as well as law enforcement, the legal system and North Idaho College. | June 15, 2020 1:10 AM

Museum, staffed by volunteers, opens for season

The Post Falls Museum has opened for the summer season.

Established in 1988 by the Post Falls Historical Society, the museum has been at its current location — the old Chapin’s drug store, built in 1923 — since 2009.

The building itself has stories to tell. Over the decades, it’s also housed a grocery store, a laundromat, the Post Falls Police Department and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. For 11 years, the space has been used to preserve the history of Post Falls and the surrounding areas.

“We’ve got a lot for a small museum,” said Ted Fredekind, a volunteer and guide.

Exhibits showcase the past of Post Falls, particularly relating to timber, tourism, the military and more. One space showcases items related to the old mills, while another features desks and photos from Post Falls schools that are long gone.

The museum has the only remnants of the one-mile Alan Race Track, which was built in 1907 and mysteriously burned down in the late 1920s.

Fredekind’s favorite part of the museum is a room full of furniture and household items from the 1950s.

“I was a teenager in the ’50s,” he said. “When I go in there, I feel like a teenager again.”

The museum is staffed by volunteers, Fredekind noted, who are happy to walk visitors through the exhibits and answer questions.

“They really love telling the stories of Post Falls,” he said.

Admission to the museum is free. Donations are accepted. Visitors are encouraged to wear masks and practice social distancing. Fixtures and common spaces are cleaned after each visit. Large groups are discouraged at this time.

The Post Falls Museum is at 101 E. Fourth Ave. It’s open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through October.

Info: 208-262-9642 or www.postfallsmuseum.weebly.com.

photo

Post Falls Historical Society board member Ted Fredekind stands by a betting window from the Alan Race Track that was used from 1910 to 1913. It was located where the Walmart sits now on Mullan Avenue.

photo

Photo by Brian Walker Post Falls high school memorabilia on display at the Post Falls Museum.

ARTICLES BY KAYE THORNBRUGH

Two dead after crime spree near Washington-Idaho border
June 17, 2025 1:09 a.m.

Two dead after crime spree near Washington-Idaho border

Police fatally shot suspect accused of killing good Samaritan

Police fatally shot suspect accused of killing good Samaritan

Gizmo summer camps offer hands-on learning
June 14, 2025 1:05 a.m.

Gizmo summer camps offer hands-on learning

Gizmo-CDA is offering summer camp options to keep young people entertained and spark their imaginations.

A Car d’Lane dream comes true
June 13, 2025 1:07 a.m.

A Car d’Lane dream comes true

Man will cruise Car d’Lane in honor of late dad

Man will cruise Car d’Lane in honor of late dad