Museum of the month | Black Diamond Museum

Museum location: 32627 Railroad Ave., Black Diamond

Permanent displays: In the 1880s, the Black Diamond Coal Co. was depleting its coal supply in California and moved its operations and employees and their families north to a remote area in Washington Territory to mine the local coal seams. The museum, once the town's train depot, is located on the former main street, and brings together artifacts from the days when Black Diamond was a company town. Displays are varied enough to interest most visitors. Extensive collections of old photos and maps inside show the town in its coal-mining heyday. Coal-mining gear includes bird cages to bring along canaries to detect poor air quality.

Many exhibits show what family life was like in the area, especially during the first few decades of the 20th century. There are reconstructions of an early kitchen and parlor, and displays of clothing, dishes and toys. Welsh hymn books and Slovenian club plaques reflect the varied nationalities of the miners. A reconstructed physician's surgery shows the early tools of his trade, and a barbershop room is packed with personal hygiene items. In the basement, you can trace the evolution of washing machines and cast-iron stoves, and poke around the back tool room.

After World War I, oil gradually replaced coal as fuel for heating and transportation, forcing the coal company at the time, Pacific Coast Coal, to begin selling off assets. Instead of moving company buildings to another mine site (as Black Diamond had originally been established), the decline in demand for coal actually kept the town site of Black Diamond largely intact. Pick up a free tour guide to the town in the museum rack for more on its history and buildings.

Highlights: Walk through the restored caboose outside the museum, and peek into a tiny cell in the 1909 town jail on the museum's south side. Inside the museum on the ground floor don't miss the back room packed with bottles discovered in the area, including some items from Prohibition. People drove from as far as Seattle and Tacoma to wet their whistles in Black Diamond's well-known basement speakeasies.

Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursdays and noon-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (closes at 3 p.m. on weekends from Labor Day to Memorial Day).

Admission: Free, donations welcome.

Directions: From Interstate 405 in Renton, take Highway 169 (Maple Valley Highway) to the town of Black Diamond. Turn right on Baker Street and go to the bottom of the hill to Railroad Avenue. The museum is straight ahead in an old train depot, just down the street from the Black Diamond Bakery.

For more information: 360-886-2142 or www.blackdiamondmuseum.org.

— Cathy McDonald, Special to The Seattle Times

Renton-based freelancer Cathy McDonald, a former geologist, has written about science and nature travel for 20 years. She's currently a travel guidebook editor at Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door. Contact her: nwwriter@hotmail.com