Walk Through the Past
In 1891,
a thirty-two year old Harvard graduate, Guy Waring,
arrived in the Methow Valley, spotted a market in the handful
of
miners
and ranchers living nearby, and opened Winthrop's first
general store. After two years of success, the store burned
and Waring was forced to move back east to recoup his losses.
Three
years later he returned to rebuild his business,
having enticed his wife to come with him by promising
to build her a fine home. This carefully crafted
log house, admiringly called "The Castle" by locals,
is now the centerpiece of the Shafer Museum. 0wen
Wister, author of The Virginian, once visited
here, drawing some of his story from the area.
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Except
for the old log town hall, Waring owned every building
on Winthrop's main street. Bankrupt in 1916, he again went
east, leaving his stepson, Harry Greene, to live in this
showplace home. When the Greenes left a few years later,
it was used by the Episcopal church. In 1943, purchased
by local merchant Simon Shafer, the Winthrop landmark was
made into a museum. Eventually turned over to the Okanogan
County Historical Society, this project has been gradually
improved and expanded. |
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