[2] Due to the rapid development in Owens Valley in the early 20th century, many people realized that much of the area's history could be lost unless preserved.

In early 1928, a group of young men consisting of Ralph Bell, Frank Parcher, Charles Forbes, and William Sanford were interested in Native American culture, locating and photographing petroglyphs and also collecting artifacts.

[3] In 2019, a tusk most likely coming from a species in the genus Mammuthus was loaned to the museum by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

[4] The museum contains one of the most extensive collections of Owens Valley Paiute and Timbisha baskets in California, with over 400 and 100 other related artifacts.

[8] The exterior of the museum also has a native plant garden, named after Mary DeDecker, a botanist who worked mainly in Eastern California.