Whether you’re a history buff or just a curious onlooker, the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives in Jasper, Alberta will provide hours of fascination, excitement, and learning.

Started by the Jasper-Yellowhead Historical Society in 1977, itself a group with a history spanning back to 1963, the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives are a treasure trove of various displays and artifacts containing almost 200 years of Canadian heritage in its collections and reflecting the natural and human history of the Jasper National Park area.

The permanent Historical Gallery, renamed the Fred Kofin Historical Gallery in 2010, in honor of the longest serving Jasper-Yellowhead Historical Society Treasurer, holds exhibits on the fur trade, the railroad, and the early exploration and development of tourism in Jasper National Park.

See artifacts from Jasper’s fur trade days, vintage musket balls, remnants of the Pocahontas coalmine, an historical ice axe from Mt. Alberta, and an interpretive exhibit focusing on the history and heritage of Jasper’s native people.

The Showcase gallery at the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives is always worth a look, as its displays are ever-changing throughout the year. Exhibits such as “Outfitters and Guides of the Glittering Mountains,” “Bears in the Alley,” and “David Thompson 200 Years Later” have been in this spot along with arts and crafts by local artisans and photographers, traveling historical exhibits, and special installations, such as the popular and seasonal Festival of Trees.

Thousands of more artifacts are held in collection storage, including wooden shovels dated to 1911 and used on the Skyline Trail and woolen bathing suits worn at Miette Hot Springs. The Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives collection continually grow with donations of new artifacts arriving on a regular basis.

Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives

www.jaspermuseum.org Stop in and check it out – you never know what you’ll see!