McHenry Museum — Attraction in Modesto

I visited this museum one evening recently as the agency where I work was hosting a holiday party here. I had not thought about visiting this museum before because I assumed it was nothing special and no one I knew had ever talked about it. I actually felt embarrassed as I toured the exhibits here and realized how wrong I had been and had really missed out on a very nice museum. For starters, the building is simply beautiful and larger inside than I had expected. There is a lot to see here and it would take approx. an hour and a half to view all the exhibits. Lots of history of the area here and memorabilia that covers most aspects of life in the Central Valley. There were some full size exhibits of a barbershop, school, soda shop, general store, to name a few that were well done. Lots of great photographs, household items, sports memorabilia, doll and toy collection, Native American section, gold mining, farm implements, law enforcement items, to name some of the things you will see here. The museum has two floors, with the basement housing many of the exhibits. There is something to intrigue just about everyone here and admission is free. There is a nice gift shop as well with souvenir items and a good collection of books. Don't miss this interesting and...

We tried visiting the museum for the first time today and were extremely disappointed. My children ran up the stairs to the front door and waited AT the door for me. They didn't even open the door. As I walked up the stairs the security guard opened the door and stepped out and literally looked at my 3 kids and said "You can wait to come in as a family but don't ransack the place. We are trying to be able to keep the doors open to everyone." My children stood there not knowing what to even do. My kids aren't banshees and they know how to behave. There 12, 10 and 10. It's not like they were screaming toddlers. And the fact that they didn't even try going in. They were literally waiting at the top of the stairs for me. Needless to say we did not walk through the museum. We left. Hopefully next time we try he isn't there. He was very rude and unprofessional and had no right saying...

The docents and the gift shop manager are warm, dignified, and respectful assets to this priceless institution. The facility is managed by Laura Mesa, an employee with the City of Modesto Parks Department.

I spent time reviewing art and photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s of the original Modesto. There is also a room with current artists in this area.

There is a glass case with beadwork by the Yokuts Indians and data on their numbers in the area before the present day. It's heartening to see historical information on the First Nations people here.

I did not see the entire museum, which likely would take a couple of visits.

Spend time with your family and friends and enjoy this free museum filled with artifacts and stories about the founding...