The Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum tells the story of local Native Americans and the pioneers who settled in the Groveland area. It is owned and operated by the Southern Tuolumne County Historical Society (STCHS) as a nonprofit organization. The Museum is the result of a grassroots community effort to safeguard the cultural heritage of Southern Tuolumne County. Inside the Museum you'll find many exhibits such as Klamath/Modoc Indian basketry made of twined tule to create ceremonial gift baskets, cone-shaped burden baskets, figurines and hats, embellished with dyed porcupine quills, yarn, and glass beads. The story of the Hetch Hetchy Railroad, California Gold Rush, early pioneer families, local geological features such as Bower Cave, and local wildlife are eloquently told with artifacts, photos and old newspaper clippings.

Outside is the best example of a working arrastra from the Longfellow Mine, and a working model of the Lavaroni Sawmill. The museum store sells a wide variety of educational items, historical books and documents, as well as flora and fauna identification books. Many are written and autographed by local authors.

Books for Sale:

• Yosemite Hetch Hetchy Railroad by Ted Wurm (autographed). This is a very important (classic) book about the history of our area and particularly the Hetch Hetchy Project. This book was previously titled Hetch Hetchy and Its Dam Railroad.
• Meadow in the Sky by Elisabeth Stone O'Neill, the history of the Tuolumne Meadows area. Elisabeth is a local author.
• Basey's Sierra Nevada Journal, a comprehensive reference covering the Sierra Nevada as an ecosystem.
• History of Chinese Camp
• Birds of Northern California
• Animal Tracks of Northern California
• The Big Oak Flat Road to Yosemite by Schlichtman and Paden, another must-read book about the history of Highway 120.
• An Illustrated Flora of Yosemite, a wonderful book that identifies all of the hundreds of plants known to occur in Yosemite.

Seasons Open: Open Year Round

Hours Open: Tues, Wed, Thurs 1pm-4pm; Friday & Saturday - 10 to 4; Closed Sunday and Monday

Fees: Admission is free

Wheel chair accessible

No pets please.