Yakima Valley Museums, Culture and History — A Journey Through the Valley’s Heritage
You can enjoy the present-day Yakima Valley without first studying its past. Still, visiting a museum or cultural center adds depth and richness to time spent in the Valley.
Museums & History
Explore the Agricultural and Native American Heritage of the Yakima Valley
The Valley’s museums, interpretive centers, and historic places honor its hardworking settlers, the proud history of the Yakama Nation, and its defining agricultural traditions. Together, they provide engaging and flavorful views of the Yakima Valley’s past, present, and future.
Museum Destinations in the Yakima Valley
Yakima Valley Museum
2105 Tieton Drive • Yakima, WA 98902 • 509-248-0747
Explore two floors devoted to the natural and cultural history of South Central Washington, including the largest collection of wooden wagons west of the Mississippi. Exhibits cover the Yakima Valley fruit industry, horse-drawn vehicles, Indian art & artifacts, natural history, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, and rotating special exhibitions.
The museum also includes a gift and book shop, research library, and an operating 1930's Art Deco Soda Fountain. Sunset Magazine readers recently voted the Museum's Soda Fountain one of the West Coast's Top Ten Old Fashioned Soda Fountains.
Central Washington Ag Museum
4508 Main Street • Union Gap, WA 98903 • 509-457-8735
The Central Washington Agricultural Museum presents Washington State's agricultural heritage and is the largest museum of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. Annual events include the Old Town Days celebration every June, featuring Washington's largest Civil War reenactment, and the Pioneer Power Show every August, where visitors can experience antique farm equipment.
Northern Pacific Railway Museum
10 Asotin Avenue • Toppenish, WA 98948 • 509-865-1911
This museum features a gift shop, a restored telegraph office, and access to a picnic area in adjacent Railroad Park. The Northern Pacific Railway Museum is open to the public from May through mid-October, every Tuesday through Saturday from 10am - 4pm, as well as during special events such as Toy Train Christmas.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under.
Yakama Nation Cultural Museum
100 Spiel-yi Loop • Toppenish, WA 98948 • 509-865-2800
The Yakama Nation Cultural Center is the best place to explore the important cultural influence of the Yakama Nation. Open daily, the facility includes the Yakama Nation Museum, Cultural Center Gift Shop, the Heritage Inn Restaurant, the Heritage Theater, and the Yakama Nation Library.
Yakima Electric Railway Museum
418 S 3rd Avenue • Yakima, WA 98902 • 509-249-5962
Located in a former Yakima Valley Transportation Co. 1910 shop facility, the museum offers vintage electric trolley rides between Selah and Yakima. Visitors can also see the original powerhouse and electric rail equipment.
Yakima Area Arboretum
1401 Arboretum Drive • Yakima, WA 98901 • 509-248-0747
This distinctive "tree museum" features native and exotic plants gathered from around the world. It is also home to one of the regions few Japanese Gardens. The Jewett Interpretive Center provides space for small meetings along with a gift shop and library.
American Hop Museum
22 S B Street • Toppenish, WA 98948 • 509-865-4677
Discover the rich history of the Yakima Valley hop industry, which reaches back as far as the 1800s. The museum includes murals, displays, photographs, implements, and a colonial brewery exhibit, plus an on-site gift shop.
McAllister Museum of Aviation
2008 S 16th Avenue • Yakima, WA 98903 • 509-457-4933
Charlie and Alister McAllister opened the flight school in 1926, and it became one of the longest running flight schools in the Northwest. Following Charlie's death at age 95, the school became the museum that stands today. The museum is located at the East end of the Yakima Airport at 2008 South 16th Avenue.
Fort Simcoe State Park
5150 Fort Simcoe Road • White Swan, WA 98952 • 509-874-2372
Fort Simcoe State Park preserves a site established in 1856 as a consequence of hostilities between the Natives and the white men. The fort housed infantry who watched over the region in the mid 1800s and was constructed on an important tribal gathering place on the Yakama Nation Reservation.
The Fort later served as a school for the Yakama Nation. Visitors may explore the grounds and officers' quarters, furnished in historical likeness of their original state.
Ahtanum Mission
17740 Ahtanum Road • Yakima, WA 98903 • 509-966-0865
Built in the early 1850's, Ahtanum Mission is another highly recognized historical landmark. Chief Kamiakin asked a Catholic Priest in Walla Walla to come teach his tribe. In response, two Catholic Fathers arrived and built St. Joseph's Mission on the Ahtanum Creek.
Benton County Historical Museum - Prosser
1000 Paterson Road • Prosser, WA 99350 • 509-786-3842
Prosser's Benton County Historical Museum is a non-profit historical museum in Prosser Washington. Founded in 1968, it works to preserve the history of Prosser and the surrounding area. Five rooms hold ancient artifacts, photographs, books, dresses, tools, and many other objects connected to the area's past.
Olde Yakima Letterpress Museum
4508 Main Street • Union Gap, WA 98903 • 206-719-4979
Visit a hands-on working 1900's letterpress shop preserving an ancient art for the next generation. The museum is located within the Central WA Ag Museum in Union Gap.
Sunnyside Historical Museum
704 S 4th Street • Sunnyside, WA 98944 • 509-837-6010
This history museum is dedicated to preserving Sunnyside’s history and the stories of its citizens.
Yakima Valley Museums and Cultural Related Businesses
American Hop Museum
22 S. B Street
Toppenish, WA 98948
509-865-4677
Central Washington Agricultural Museum
4508 Main Street
Union Gap, WA 98903
509-457-8735
McAllister Museum of Aviation
2008 South 16th Avenue
Yakima, WA 98908
509-457-4933
Northern Pacific Railway Museum
10 Asotin Avenue
Toppenish, WA 98948
509-865-1911
Yakama Nation Cultural Center
100 Spiel-yi Loop (Hwy 97 & Buster Road)
Toppenish, WA 98948
509-865-2800
Yakima Area Arboretum
1401 Arboretum Drive
Yakima, WA 98901
509-248-7337
Yakima Valley Museum
2105 Tieton Drive
Yakima, WA 98902
509-248-0747
Yakima Valley Trolleys
P.O. Box 796
Yakima, WA 98907
509-249-5962