nici self historical museum

A lot of interesting stuff about the town of Centennial and how it came to be .... especially about the railroad's and how they were built.

At the base of the Snowy Mountains in Centennial you will find this museum. It is run by donations & staffed by volunteers. It has limited hours, so you will need to plan accordingly. The 1st time we were in town, they were closed. The next time we planned our day, so we could visit here.There was a nice young man working here. He was friendly and helpful. This museum is located in an old railroad depot (National Register of Historic Places). There is much to see inside and outside. One interesting thing outside is a beehive burner that was once used a local sawmill. You can see it from a ways away. The Union Pacific caboose was neat. There is also antique farm equipment outside. And picnic tables if you want to sit a spell or have your lunch. You will learn about this high mountain town - how important the railroad, mining, & ranching was to Centennial.The museum was named in honor of a founding member - & her name was Bernice "Nici" Self. I am always so impressed with our western towns that support these lovely little museums. That is how you learn what went on so many years ago. Phone 307-742-7158 or 742-8612.

This museum is staffed and run entirely by volunteers and you can tell they're really passionate about it. I was driving through on a Sunday and I was surprised to see that it was open because most of the museums in Wyoming are open Tuesday-Saturday. Not only was it open, but the volunteer at the front desk gave me a little spiel about his favorite parts and then let me wander around on my own.It's not a great big museum, but they've got a lot of neat little items, like a display of various types of barbed wire and a silo that used to be used for burning sawdust. The building itself used to be the train depot for a railway line that was the slowest built line in at least the U. S. If you like small-town or house museums, you will probably enjoy this one; a lot of love has gone into putting it and keeping it together. There's no fee but they accept donations.