Museums

Cle Elum [1] was the last place in America to use a manually operated switchboard, and the last to institute the touch-tone dial system.

The old phone building was transformed into the Cle Elum Historical Telephone Museum (221 E. 1st St., 509/674-5702, noon–4 p.m. Sat.–Sun. Memorial Day–Labor Day, and by appointment the rest of the year, free). Inside this surprisingly well-done little museum are switchboard exhibits, photographs of early Cle Elum, and other memorabilia. For something different, try the “coal” candy sold here.

The spacious Carpenter Museum (302 W. 3rd St., 509/674-5702, noon–4 p.m. Sat.–Sun. Memorial Day–Labor Day, free) was built in 1914 by a prosperous local banker, Frank Carpenter. His granddaughter donated it, along with much of the original furnishings—including Tiffany lamps, an oak dining table with 11 leaves, and a beautifully carved rosewood chair—to the local historical society.