The Gridley Museum resides in the historic district of Downtown Gridley. It finds its home in the 115-year-old Veatch building. 

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - On Saturday, Feb. 24, and Sunday, Feb. 25, the Gridley Museum was open to the public while participating in the fifth annual Explore Museum Weekend.

Hosted by Explore Butte County, 16 museums, galleries, and cultural centers opened their doors over the weekend with free admission. Participating museums included The Gridley Museum, Chico’s Centerville-Colman, Children’s, History, Gateway Science, Northern California Art, Janet Turner Print, and the Valene Smith of Anthropology. In Oroville, Bolt’s Antique Tool, Butte County Historical Society, C.F. Lott Home, Feather River Nature Center, Historic State Theatre, Chinese Temple, and the Pioneer History Museums.

Gridley Museum Staff smile after a successful museum weekend! Pictured left to right: Lisa Van De Hey, Howard Hamman, RuthAnn King and Pat Teague.

When requested, attendees received a ‘passport’. The passport was stamped by the staff of five different museums on the program. Then, you have until March 31st to redeem your passport to receive special deals at local participating restaurants.

Seven-year-old Henrey Radley shared his love of the museum, which he visits frequently. He is pictured here standing in front of a working model of a historic electric train, similar to the ones that used to run through Gridley.

Each day at 1:00, Ruth Ann King, the director of the Gridley Museum, conducted a four to five-block walking tour around town, pointing out and describing landmarks and buildings with historical backgrounds. Pat Teague, a researcher and docent of the museum, implemented a fascinating presentation about the town of Hamilton, a mining town situated on the west side of the Feather River, that was once the county seat in 1850. Hamilton lost the title to Oroville in August of 1853.

Quoted from the presentation, “Today, the town of Hamilton is just a memory of a rollicking time filled with gold fever dreams of becoming wealthy. There is no Hamilton ghost town, just a cemetery with a few headstones and a historical marker.”

In the audience were several adults, one dog, and one exceptional child. Local resident, Henrey Radley 7, sat through the 45-minute presentation without the slightest wiggle. When asked if he visited the museum often, Henrey said, “Yeah, and did you know that railroad spike over there is really, really old?” He also enthusiastically informed the group what he had learned online about the ‘chicken of the woods mushroom.’ “When you cook it, it tastes like chicken,” he said.

Pat Teague presents an informative story on Hamilton, the home of Butte County's first county seat. 

An interesting and informative weekend learning about the bygone eras of the towns of Butte County. For more information on this annual event, go to https://www.explorebuttecounty.com/museum-weekend.