In 2017, Tenakee Springs opened its first museum, the culmination of a 30-year campaign by founders of the Tenakee Historical Collection. Housed in the town’s renovated, historic liquor store building, it’s ingeniously heated by the same warm waters that flow through the nearby public hot spring. The museum’s documents and artifacts (including an old still and logging equipment) tell the story of the idyllic settlement that once served as a hub for local canneries and as a winter refuge for loggers, minders and commercial fishermen. Audio-visual equipment includes a record-player and TV. A small selection of the gifts is offered, including postcards, coffee mugs and the small book “Tenakee Times.” The museum publishes a newsletter featuring historic accounts of Tenakee and the surrounding area, titled, “The Store Door.” It takes its name from the front door of Snyder’s Mercantile that served for decades as the town’s “Internet” of local news and announcements.
