Fodor's Expert Review Stumptown Historical Society's Museum

If you want to check out a cross section of American life, drop by the Whitefish train station at 6 am as a sleepy collection of farmers, cowboys, and skiers awaits the arrival of Amtrak's Empire Builder, en route from Seattle to Chicago. Inside the half-timber depot is the Stumptown Historical Society's Whitefish Museum. The focus here is the Great Northern Railway, the nation's first unsubsidized transcontinental railway that passed through Whitefish. On display are lanterns, old posters, and crockery, as well as reminders of local history, such as the books of author Dorothy M. Johnson and photos of the Whitefish football team from 1922 through 1954, plus some real fun (look for the fur-covered trout). You can pick up a walking-tour map of Whitefish's historic district here.