Avid historians and those who are just curious as to what Lewis County used to look like now have access to a new, massive, free digital library of photos courtesy of the Lewis County Historical Museum.
The museum announced the archive was available in an Aug. 28 Facebook post, and The Chronicle reached out to Lewis County Historical Museum Executive Director Jason Mattson to learn more about the photo collection.
“We’ve been collecting these photos for many many years, and we’ve had them scanned for quite a while but are now just getting around to getting them online,” Mattson said.
All of the physical copies of the photos will be kept at the museum with some occasionally still being used for museum displays. Mattson added if anyone wants a copy of any photo in the collection, they can get one printed out from the museum for $10.
As for the size of the collection, Mattson isn’t sure of the exact number but said there are more than 35,000 photos in the digital library, going back all the way to the turn of the last century.
Additionally, he plans on continuing to expand the library.
“If more people want to donate or just loan their historical photos for us to scan in, they’re always welcome to,” Mattson said.
To access the digital photo library, visit the Lewis County Historical Museum website at https://lewiscountymuseum.org/photos/.
Mattson added the website also has a new interactive map of the county featuring locations and information on historical sites across Lewis County. To access the map, visit https://lewiscountymuseum.org/itineraries/.
The Lewis County Historical Museum is located at 599 NW Front Way in downtown Chehalis. For more information, visit the museum’s website or call 360-748-0831.
