Oakdale Cowboy Museum

Small museum with free admission, and an even smaller gift shop selling quirky stuff like leather-scented candles. Two rooms filled with interesting cowboy attire, antiques, posters, photos, books, old school tin lunch boxes, saddles, and lots of informative signs about rodeo practices and rules. We visited on a "Sip and Stroll" event day, so there was also live music out front. We didn't have much interaction with staff and just roamed around and explored at our own pace, which didn't take long due to the size of the museum.

If you have never been to Oakdale, it's the "cowboy capital of the world". Don't worry the city is very modernized. Be sure to check out the the_cowboy museum when you're in town! FREE admission to this awesome tiny museum!

First of all, the cowboy museum is free! Secondly, they are only open Wednesday through Saturday.This is a quaint little museum housed in the old Southern Pacific train station. The best part of the museum was the docent. I don't remember her name, but she was so friendly and informative.There are lot of antiques and historical artifacts to look at. But there aren't many things for little ones to do here, it's definitely geared towards adults.

Oakdale is one of my favorite place to visit.Every time I travel to Oakdale, I love to stop to this small Musem. My kids enjoyed it. Definitely a place to visit and learn about the wonderful and rich heritage of the American West, preserving California's cultural history, & teaching the mutual evolutions of Agriculture & the American Cowboy.

If you ever find yourself in Oakdale, this is a neat little spot to check out. I love all the old history that Oakdale has. I could only imagine how awesome it was to live her when the gold rush was happening. When there was really cowboys here. I'm sure it was a delightful place.

A cute little museum that gives you a glimpse into the past. Cowboys, ranchers, rodeos, all the things that shaped the Central Valley. If you visit at the right time, there are some very cheerful 12 year old tour guides that will very enthusiastically share their knowledge of all things cowboy. It's small and probably won't take more than 30 minutes to get through, and that's if you read all the signs. Glad I dropped in.

The Central Valley? Ugh; speed through so you can get to the mountains as fast as you can. A cowboy museum just doesn't seem to fit in a little farm town. It's only when you drive through Oakdale that you see that it does fit here like an old boot. On the surface, this is obviously cowboy country: the Feed & Seed, several western wear stores, the pro rodeo arena, and half the cars on the road are 2-ton trucks. It's actually the typical stores near the rodeo arena (CVS, Big 5, Raley's, Round Table Pizza) that feel out of place in this town. Then you find out that there are so many pro rodeo people who have put roots down within 10 miles of this burg, and now you understand why it calls itself the Cowboy Capital Of The World.Knowing this, and having grown up in a town just down the highway, I knew that my Texas-native hunny would love the Cowboy Museum. And boy howdy, did she ever. She was reading up on the local heroes, smiled at the pic of President Reagan being presented with a PRCA pin, got a kick out of the dozen saddles on loan, admired the Remington paintings.As for me, this is authentic, the real deal, not a hokey Disney version. Valuable information about local ranches that have been in the same family since the late 1800s. Several photos and paintings of residents in years past screamed "lifelong local rancher". They even have a section on the wall for Cricket, the late beloved horse who smiled at the traffic speeding around that curve on 108/120 near Lover's Leap.Overall, the museum is a fascinating introduction to cowboy culture in general and immersion into the local culture in particular. Very convenient location, in the old railroad depot in the center of town. And no need to travel to Laramie WY: it's less than 100 miles from the Bay Area. A must-visit when you travel through.

What a great piece of local history. Name doesn't do it justice. I will be updating this review ASAP, and adding photos. This small building is packed with memorabilia. It tells the history of Oakdale, including the discovery of gold back in the 1800's. I strongly recommend taking a knowledgeable person with you to appreciate the history being displayed. Their hours of operation are limited.While parking is extremely limited, you can park in the lot just East of the museum across the street. The property owner is the owner of the H-B Saloon and has given express permission to do so. Why not, that has you parked where you will want to stop for a meal or drink or both, after visiting the museum. Please read my H-B Saloon review.Be sure to take one of the "Oakdale California - cowboy Capital of the World" brochures. It is filled with useful and interesting information.

Very small but packed with great photos, saddles, branding irons. For people out of the area, it was a delightful piece of history I knew nothing about. Our host was friendly and talkative and personally walked us through each piece while we were there.

If you're in the area you should be sure to visit. You'd learn a lot of interesting things about Oakdale and it's cowboy heritage from the museum itself and ifrom its very friendly and helpful guide.