Camp 6 Logging Museum facts for kids
The Camp 6 Logging Museum was a special place in Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington. It was built on a 14-acre forest site. The museum opened in 1964. It was created by people from the logging industry in Washington State.
Camp 6 showed what a real logging camp was like. It had a working replica of a railroad. This railroad connected the work areas with the living spaces for loggers. These living spaces were called bunk houses and bunk cars.
The museum was listed as a National Registered Historic Place. This means it was an important historical site. It had many old buildings and over 500 tons of railroad and logging equipment. Many of these big machines ran on steam power.
What Was the Camp 6 Logging Museum?
The Camp 6 Logging Museum was a unique outdoor museum. It taught visitors about the history of logging. Logging is the process of cutting down trees for wood. This industry was very important in Washington State.
The museum let you see how loggers lived and worked. You could explore old logging equipment. You could also see how railroads helped move logs. It was like stepping back in time to a real logging camp.
Why Did the Museum Close?
From 1989 to 2010, volunteers ran the museum. These volunteers were part of the Tacoma Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The museum relied on money from people and companies.
Sadly, Camp 6 closed in December 2010. This happened because they ran out of money. Both public and private funding stopped.
After the museum closed, all the equipment was moved. It went to other museums in Washington, Oregon, and California. For example, a special steam train called Pacific Coast Shay Lima #3346 moved to California. Other bunk houses and cars went to Mineral, Washington.
What is There Now?
After the equipment was moved, the site was cleaned up. In September 2012, the land was given back to Metro Parks Tacoma.
Today, the site has a new purpose. It is a temporary home for the Science And Math Institute (SAMI). SAMI is a special high school in Tacoma. It focuses on science and math.
SAMI uses the park setting to help students learn. The school offers challenging classes. Students learn in a unique environment. Metro Parks Tacoma will decide what happens to the site after SAMI moves to a permanent location.
