New Exhibits - 2012

Lenticular Cloud over Mt. Shasta

Lenticular Clouds of Mt. Shasta

Mount Shasta's Sisson Museum is going to have an exhibition on the spectacular lenticular clouds of Mount Shasta opening in April 2012. The museum exhibit will explore why and during what seasons Mount Shasta is particularly well suited to the formation of different types of lenticular clouds. It will investigate how our mountain compares to other lenticular-forming mountain regions in the world, and legends about the lenticular clouds will also be discussed.

Sisson Museum is looking forward to hosting this exhibit because many visitors ask about these unusual clouds, why they are there, and the legends behind them. The community is invited to become a part of the lenticular exhibit and share their knowledge about these beautiful and unusual clouds by submitting photos, videos, or stories about Mount Shasta's lenticular clouds.

As part of the exhibition, amateur and professional photographers alike are invited to submit up to 3 lenticular cloud photographs and/or short videos for a large group display in the event room during the first 4 months of the exhibition. Bill Miesse, the exhibit organizer, said this group display is intended to show the beauty and unusual variety of these clouds. The emphasis in the photos and videos should be on the clouds themselves and not so much on the artistic composition. Unusual historic photographs from the early 20th century and later are also welcome. All submissions will be displayed on the walls of the event room in the museum.

Photographs, framed or unframed, and of any size, of original photographs, laser prints, digital files (to be printed out by the museum), and the like, may be submitted. Digital files of jpeg or tiff format (less than 1 MB) may be sent to . Other types of submissions will be accepted starting during the month of March. More information about this will be on the museum's website in February.

Any personal accounts or interesting information about lenticular clouds on Mount Shasta are also welcome. Bill Miesse said that these stories or anecdotes should be sent to him. Bill Miesse can also answer any questions you may have about the exhibit. You can phone him at 530-926-3346 or email him at .

Sisson Museum looks forward to hearing from the community, reading the stories about lenticular clouds, and viewing the photographs and videos that people will submit.

2011 Exhibits

Mt. Shasta H2O - Stories Water Can Tell

Mt. Shasta H20 Stories Water Can Tell is a group of exhibits which seeks to explain some of the ways Mt. Shasta water is unique. From its award winning taste to its use as far south as Los Angeles local water is important to millions of Californians.

Our water stories help explain the "age" of spring water and how Mt. Shasta collects and stores water to be released as full sized streams from local springs. Learn about the fish which can only exist in these pure cold local rivers. See the first important public explanation of the damage to and restoration of the Sacramento River after the railroad chemical spill twenty years ago. View a video documenting a virtually empty Shasta Lake during the drought of the 1970's. Bring the kids to perform experiments about water in our children's section. School groups are welcome with advance notice. Call or e-mail for details.



Introduction to Water Talks

"The Water Talks on the Klamath Settlement Agreements was the best introduction to the whole Klamath Dam water issue that I've been exposed to. You can read about all the parts, but if you can sit in the room with all the different people with their human concerns, it puts the human face on the issues. All the factions have to figure out how to make it work for everyone, being there and watching it was illuminating.

The education about water is powerful."
Nickki Lee Hill, Montague

Water Talks is an ongoing series of informational and educational events with local and regional expert presenters sharing on a range of water related topics. Water Talks is a project of California Trout. California Trout is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring California's wild trout, steelhead, and salmon streams. 2011 Water Talks dates are marked in your calendar. All talks are from 6-8 pm at the Sisson Museum. For more information, or to suggest a Water Talks topic contact Meadow Barr, Water Talks coordinator at 530-859-1411

2011 Water Talks schedule:


Permanent Exhibits

Native American Basketry

Through the generosity of the Stella and Ernest Wheeler Family Trust, the Fort Jones Museum, and wonderful community support we are able to show and preserve an excellent collection of local Native American basketry. For countless generations before the coming of the Europeans, the local tribes learned, lived, and taught a sustainable lifestyle on their riverine lands. Gathering, storing, preparing, cooking, and serving of many foods was done entirely with tools made from locally gathered materials. Our exhibit shows excellent examples of these tools, plus a substantial collection of articles made for trade after white contact. We offer far more of this genre of these beautiful pieces of art than the visitor will find at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC !

The Mountaineering Wall

This exhibit was designed in 2004 by historian and Sisson Museum Director Perry Sims. He has done extensive research on the first horse to climb Mt Shasta and has compiled pictures showing the first man, first woman and several groups to climb the mountain. The display was funded by a grant from JEDI and the Stewardship Fund of Siskiyou County, with matching grants from Black Bear Diner and The Fifth Season, along with major individual contributions from the community.

The centerpiece is the conoidal reflector from the top of the 1875 surveying signal which was a unique landmark on the summit of Mt. Shasta until 1903. The descriptive panels surrounding the display detail the nature of the surveys, the installation of the signal, and several significant events related to the artifact.

The mountaineering displays include details of the creation of the Shasta Alpine Lodge, more commonly known as the Sierra Club Cabin, and climbing and biographical information about the first non-native man and woman to achieve the summit. An historical error, repeated since the 1880s is corrected by naming Catherine Edson Eddy the first white woman to climb to the summit.

Credit is also given to colorful J. M. "Mac" Olberman, the Sage of Shasta, for his remarkable contribution to the rich folk history of the mountain.

Several other notable climbs have been described, including the occasion of the first horse proven to have been taken to the 14,162 foot summit in 1903.

A popular addition to the display is an evolving summary of Feats and Records listing the youngest and oldest persons to climb, as well as speed records and other non-historical information.

Chronological History of the Community

Visitors will find a very complete pictorial timeline beginning with Strawberry Valley, then Berryvale, Sisson, and finally Mt. Shasta City showing how our community has grown from a stage coach station to a very popular spot on the interstate highway.


Lulu Belle, the 1915 Model T fire engine

Lulu Belle, the 1915 Model T fire engine

Get your photo taken sitting in our 1915 Model T fire engine, Lulu Belle!


Model Train Layout

The Museum's HO gauge model train layout can be operated by our visitors, and is a big favorite with our younger guests.