Stuart and I had the opportunity to take a day trip and we ended up not far from home but in place we seldom visit. The McHenry Museum in Modesto California. The museum was decorated for Christmas which made it seem even more exciting for us.
I have always loved this old building and can remember visiting it as a child when it was the library. This beautiful building was completed in 1912. Here is what it looked like back in it’s early days.
When they built the new library in the early 70’s they turned this lovely old historic building into a museum. It is filled with exhibits documenting the early days of Stanislaus County.
We learned about the Indian Tribes that lived here and the first settlers, the gold rush era, and of our city’s founding families. One of them being the McHenry’s which the museum is named after, a street is named after, their historic 1800’s mansion is also a museum and let’s not forget our very own historical society is also linked with the name McHenry. I say all of this tongue in cheek because not so long ago our historical society learned of a skeleton in the McHenry legacy. It turns out that “McHenry” was an assumed identity from someone wanting to avoid being caught and prosecuted as a deserter. You can read the article here.
Our favorite however was the Vintage Christmas Tree exhibit where one of them even came with falling snow.
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