Washington County Historical Society Museum

I was pleasantly surprised by how lovely this little museum turned out to be. My husband and I were spending the day in Stillwater, and had just finished a very poorly narrated tour of the historic courthouse, when we decided to wander over to the tiny Warden's House Museum. The gentleman who met us out front sold us our tickets ($5 each), and then proceeded to take us through the whole house. It's honestly mostly a mishmash of random items people in Washington County have donated over the years (he mentioned that they are no longer accepting donations of antique pianos because at this point every ground floor room in the house has one). The real jewel here was our tour guide. He was very well versed in all aspects of early Minnesota history, from the rise and fall of the logging industry, to the process of bringing electricity to Stillwater, to the old county jail whose remnants the museum is next to. It was clear the he wasn't just regurgitating some lines he had memorized: he answered all our questions thoroughly and thoughtfully, and clearly was an avid history buff. I highly recommend visiting this little gem.