Clothes that document family history
Too Good to Leave Behind

Most people have special items they save and take with them when they move to a new home. When the first Euro Americans came to the Valley in the 1850s and 1860s, they had to make hard choices about what to bring and what to leave behind.

After the railroad arrived in 1885, people moving to the Valley could bring many more possessions from their former homes. Ancestors, life "back East" or "down South," favorite relatives, and even special events "back home" are all reflected in the clothing people continue to save and move even when its fashion is long outdated and all usefulness is gone.