The Shafer Museum brings to life the amazing stories of the area, allowing future generations a window into the past that also illuminates the present.
In 1891, 32 year old Harvard graduate named Guy Waring arrived in the Methow Valley, spotted a market in the handful of miners and ranchers living nearby and opened Winthrop's first general store. After two years of success, the store burned and Waring was forced to move back east to recoup his losses.
Three years later he returned to rebuild his business, having enticed his reluctant wife to return with him by promising to build her a fine home. This carefully crafted log house, called "The Castle" by locals, is now the centerpiece of the Shafer Museum. 0wen Wister, author of The Virginian, visited here twice, drawing some of his story from the area.
The Shafer Museum showcases the rich and varied history of Winthrop: its unique local characters; its mining, ranching, and farming history; and its evolution from a small Native site on the shores of the Chewuch River to the diverse cultural mecca it is today.
