The Brinton Museum, Sheridan, WY

The Brinton Museum, Sheridan, WY is a find. We drove from Buffalo to explore Sheridan and discovered two divergent, however interesting venues, The Brinton Museum, and King’s Saddlery and King’s Museum. The Brinton Museum is actually in Big Horn, WY on the 620 acre Quarter Circle A Ranch a short drive from downtown Sheridan. Bradford Brinton purchased the ranch in 1923. Bradford, like, Dolph Briscoe and Jim Getchell, (see my articles on both the Briscoe Museum and the Getchell Museum) was an avid collector of Native American Indian artifacts as well as having a keen interest in Western culture and history. The museum holds the books and art collected by Bradford documenting the culture of the 19^th century West and that of the American Indian. Our pictorial tour of the museum centers on the important and rare photogravure books of Edward S. Curtis. It cannot be emphasized enough how well Curtis documented the American Indian life thru both his photography and more importantly his prolific notes about the Indian culture. The museum itself, housed in a contemporary structure built into the side of a hill in 2015, offers architecturally pleasant surroundings in which to appreciate all the varied items on display. A restaurant is housed on the top floor looking out at the Bighorn Mountains and offers well-prepared lunch and brunch items. We enjoyed the Bistro Burger and the grilled Caesar which were hand crafted and well presented. It is a short menu; however the food was properly cooked and seasoned so as to afford a mouthwatering experience. In addition tours include that of the Brinton’s historic ranch house as well as two nature trails, the aforementioned Brinton Bistro, and bird watching events.

This museum, like Briscoe Western Art Museum, and the Jim Getchell Museum, contain significant artifacts, paintings and historical documents that continue to grow and are a significant contribution to understanding the Native American Indian culture and turn of the century daily life. With so much to observe this can easily be one entire day trip.

The Takeaway: A gem a few miles from Sheridan, WY sits The Brinton Museum in a fresh and contemporary building built into the hillside of the 620 acre ranch owned by Bradford Brinton. The collection includes artifacts, books and paintings documenting the Native American Indian and the West in the 19^th century. Of serious note is the singular and significant collection of plates by Edward S. Curtis. He used phortogravure as the medium publishing his 20 volume work, The North American Indian. Probably more important to understanding the Indian culture than his photographs are the profuse notes he made documenting their everyday life. Go to  www.rickpicks.com for more photographs, other reviews, critiques and essays with links to area attractions and a more detailed review of rv parks as well as reviews of restaurants, etc.