Winthrop

Before the cowboys came, the Methow Valley was a favorite gathering place for Indian tribes, who dug the plentiful and nutritious bulbs and hunted deer while their horses fattened on the tall native grasses. For wayward pioneers who came later, the cool, glacier-fed streams provided welcome relief on hot summer days, and the rich fields were a starting point for vast crops and orchards. The 1800s saw the burgeoning riverside settlement of Winthrop grow into a cattle-ranching town, whose residents inspired some of Owen Wister's colorful characters in his novel The Virginian. Today Winthrop, in the center of the Methow Valley, still retains its Wild West character throughout the business district, where many of the original, turn-of-the-20th-century buildings still stand.