The Chehalis Valley Historical Museum in Montesano recently has received two Civil War era pistols.

The separately-donated additions at the old Scandanavian Lutheran church are now on display.

The first, a .36 Caliber 1851 Navy Colt pistol, was donated by the Richart Family of Chewelah. According to Darrel White, author of the Chehalis Valley Historical Museum’s newsletter, The Chehalis Valley Historian, the firearm has been passed down through the family since the pistol made the perilous journey over the Oregon Trail with its owner, Snoddy Twidwell, in the summer of 1864. The pistol landed in the Chehalis Valley when the Twidwells relocated to the area from Oregon in 1866.

White’s newsletter notes that the Navy Colt is in “excellent condition” and is paired with what appears to be its original holster. However, when it comes to the gun itself, White believes the gun has been assembled out of various separate parts which helps the gun appear to be so well preserved. The evidence can be seen by noting the different serial numbers on the various components of the gun.

After admiring the Navy Colt, White thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if we had two Civil War era pistols?”

To expand the collection, White made his own donation.

The second gun, a .44 Caliber 1860 Army Colt Type 1 Richards Conversion, was donated by the White Family of Montesano. The gun was passed to White nearly 25 years ago from Darrel Jewett.

“I’ve had it all these years, but kind of felt like us having it here at home locked in the house wasn’t benefiting anyone and we really didn’t want to sell it,” White said about the decision to donate the gun to the museum.

The Army Colt was first owned by G. W. Jewett, a Canadian citizen who enlisted to fight with the Union Army as a cavalryman during the Civil War. As such, the gun may have even seen some action during the war, though White says there is no way to know for sure. He recently went to the Colt webiste to find more information about the gun’s serial numbers. Most of the serial numbers on the gun match, except the number on the loading gate.

“A gate was routinely added when the conversions were made so the serial number is never the same as those found on the other parts of the gun,” White wrote in a story about the guns in the newsletter.

The conversions mentioned by White are what makes the gun a Type 1 Richards Conversion.

Named after Charles Brinckerhoff Richards, an engineer for Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Company, improvements were made to the Colts around 1871, some of which included adding a cylinder and a bridge cover. Most notibly the Richards cartridge conversion allowed for the weapon to do away with the muzzle loading cap and ball system in favor of the more practical metalic cartridge. The improvements effectively turned the pistols into cartridge revolvers from percussion revolvers, adding to the speed at which they could be fired and reloaded.

The Army Colt is not in as good of condition as the Navy Colt, White said, but he estimates it is still worth more because of the continuity of the serial numbers and the engraved naval battle (a faded engraving depicting a naval battle) on the cylinder. White said an engraving like the one on the Army colt is somewhat unique, but still is not uncommon to see on 1860 Army Colts. He declined to disclose the approximate value.

The guns will add to only a small collection of Civil War history items at the museum. Being historically relevant is far from the only qualification required for inclusion into the museum. White says the museum is only interested in historical items that have some connection to the area.

“We want our collection to reflect this area,” White said, “these two guns were owned by people who lived here, and that’s why we wanted them.”

The museum is at 703 W. Pioneer Ave. in and is open Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.