Painted Palouse News and Mail Pouch signs on a brick building on Main Street in Palouse

Roy Chatters Newspaper and Printing Museum

Photo: JIAN GUO LU via Google Maps

The Roy Chatters Newspaper & Printing Museum fills the old Collard Building on Main Street in Palouse, a small town on the north fork of the Palouse River about 15 miles north of Pullman. Run by the Whitman County Historical Society, it preserves the equipment and methods of letterpress and Linotype printing, and according to the society, all of the equipment used by early printers is still operational.

If you have ever wondered how a small town paper got made before computers, this is where it clicks. Visitors can set type by hand and see an 1887 “finger snapper” press in action, and the museum’s newspaper archive makes it a quiet treasure for anyone tracing family or local history.

What You’ll See

  • A 2.5 ton flatbed press. The big iron centerpiece of a collection that also includes Linotype and strip casting machines, some dating to the 1890s.
  • The 1887 “finger snapper.” A vintage press that still runs.
  • Cases of metal type. The wooden drawers of individual letters that printers set by hand, one character at a time.
  • County newspapers. An archive of early newspapers from across Whitman County, including Palouse papers from 1892 to the present.

The Story Behind It

Roy M. Chatters, a retired nuclear engineer at Washington State University, collected printing equipment as it was being phased out of newspaper shops and headed for scrap. The museum opened on September 18, 1976, in a building donated by Mr. and Mrs. J.B. West, and for years it was known as the Roy M. Chatters Boomerang Newspaper and Printing Museum.

In February 1996, about two feet of floodwater damaged the building and closed the museum. Volunteers spent years on repairs, and the museum reopened in 2003.

Tips for Your Visit

  • Ask about appointments. The historical society says it does not mind spur of the moment requests, and group tours are welcome with advance notice.
  • Researching family history? The newspaper collection is available for genealogical research, with a donation requested.
  • Pair your stop with Holy Trinity Chapel at 105 E Alder Street, a former Episcopal church built in 1896 that the historical society opens by appointment.
  • Palouse sits on the Palouse Scenic Byway, so the museum fits naturally into a drive through the region.

The museum keeps a limited schedule and closes for part of the winter; check the historical society website before you go.

Plan Your Visit

Address: 110 E Main St, Palouse, WA 99161
Phone: 509.330.0353
Website: whitmancountyhistoricalsociety.org
Hours and admission: Check the museum website for current days, hours, and admission before you visit.
Directions: View on Google Maps