John Wesley Powell River History Museum

The museum sits on the riverbank just off Main Street and tells the story of John Wesley Powell's 1869 and 1871 expeditions down the Green and Colorado rivers. The exhibits include replicas of Powell's wooden boats, photographs from later expeditions, and material on the geology of the canyons.

It is more substantial than it looks from outside. There is a short film, a gallery dedicated to river runners from Nathaniel Galloway to modern guides, and exhibits on the geology of the Colorado Plateau. If you are about to launch into Labyrinth or Stillwater Canyon, half an hour here will change the way you read the cliffs.

things to do museum
A story
Powell was a one-armed Civil War major who lost his right arm at Shiloh. In 1869 he led nine men in four wooden boats down a thousand miles of unmapped river through the Grand Canyon. Four men deserted near the end, climbed out of the canyon, and were never seen again.