Plumas County Museum Archives

Facilities include research archives, a comprehensive map collection, reference library, county records, photograph reproduction services, and tourist information and referrals.

Activities include a self guided Heritage Walk of Quincy's Victorian Jackson Street, a driving guide to the historic American Valley, and a walking tour of Greenville's historic districts. Self-guided backcountry driving tours are also available to remote parts of the county. Special programs relating to the history of Plumas County, an annual potluck, docent programs, the annual Wassail Bowl open house, and fourth grade living history classes are also part of our activities.

Partnerships include programs with the U.S. Forest Service, the Plumas County Visitor's Bureau, Plumas Corporation, Plumas County Historical Society, Plumas County Fair, California State Department of Tourism, Plumas County Arts Commission, local chambers of commerce, Shasta-Cascade Wonderland Association, and the Plumas Unified School District.

The Plumas County Museum Archives exist to collect, preserve, and make available for public research county, community and regional historical records and documents. The museum's collection covers almost all aspects of Plumas County's rich history.

Archival Photographs: Over 4,000 vintage photographs of early day Plumas County and its people complement the enormous collection of ephemeral material collected over the past 75 years.

Documents: Biographies, family histories, businesses, industries, and information on all subjects relative to Plumas County may be found here.

Watson Map Collection: Over 1,000 local and regional surveys of property, mines, railroads, power projects, etc.

Newspapers: Local and regional newspapers from the 1850s to the 1960s. Many are complete volumes while others are missing issues.

Books: Local authors and history books as well as books owned by pioneer residents.

Ephemera: Scrapbooks, postcards, advertising materials, autograph books, etc.

Music: Large collection of sheet music, which includes local published songwriters.

Magazines: Mining, scientific, historic, and fashion magazines dating from the 1860s to 1950s.

County Records: District Court, County Court, Superior Court, Probate Court records, assessment records, census records, voter's registers, naturalization records and various county departmental records.

Research: The Archives are open to the public for research purposes. Hours are Monday through Friday 10 to 4 by appointment. Closed weekends. Appointments are dependent upon the availability of staff, as supervision is required. Call (530) 283-6320.

Reproduction Photograph Service: The museum offers black & white reproduction services of photographs and other graphic materials. Prices and sizes may be obtained by calling the museum at (530) 283-6320.

Photocopying Service: Available for most documents. Certain items cannot be photocopied due to their extreme age, fragility or for other reasons. There is a county mandated 50-cent charge per copy.

Donations: The Plumas County Museum Archives is a continually growing collection. The museum encourages donations to the collection. Please contact museum staff for further information.

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