About the Museum

In November 1978, the late Ted Falk shared his dream of preserving the agricultural heritage of the Yakima Valley and Central Washington and introduced the idea of a farm equipment museum to a small group of interested people. 

The dream became a reality that next year when the Central Washington Agricultural Museum was founded on March 15th, 1979, as a non-profit, tax-exempt organization governed by a board of directors with a volunteer staff. 

The all volunteer workforce was made up of knowledgeable and friendly people who actually worked with and restored the equipment on display as well as creating active demonstrations of how the equipment was used.

Since that time, those volunteers and newer ones have worked relentlessly to continue to make this dream one that will be here for generations to come.  The museum had never had a membership drive until the fall of 2010. The same year they hired their first paid part-time administrator with funds from a grant from the City of Union Gap.

The dream continues but is having to slightly change focus as many of the members are passing and new members have never experienced life on the farm. The museum still seeks to preserve, protect, and teach the knowledge and skills of early farming.  It is with great sadness that so much of this knowledge is passing away with our elder volunteers. Yet, it is with great anticipation that new volunteers will step up to learn these skills and will then pass them on to others.

Mission Statement

The purpose of this Association shall be to collect, preserve, and interpret the cultural and agricultural history of the Central Washington area and to have the freedom and right to engage in other activities as allowed by the laws of the state of Washington.