Traces of Everyday Life and Architectural History
The Oneida County Museum is housed in the former R.B. Davis Drug Store and Boarding House, a building constructed in 1914. Its collection ranges from furniture, photographs, and quilts to toys, agricultural equipment, and musical instruments, as well as clothing, military uniforms, medical instruments, and books. Together, these objects offer different insights into everyday life, work, and culture.
The present-day Oneida County Courthouse also tells a story of architectural history: it was built in 1939 as a Works Progress Administration project on its original site. The brick building is designed in the popular Art Deco style and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. Its construction date and register listing mark different chapters in its history.
In Malad, the Presbyterian Church was added to the National Register in 1979. Presbyterian religious activity in the town began in 1876, when Reverend Duncan James McMillan organized a Sunday school there. Another historic building, the Evans Co-op Building, began as a one-room log cabin in 1865 and later became a branch of the Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution, or ZCMI. Across the county, you’ll encounter very different stories: religious life, institutional development, and the changing use of a building.
Welsh Tradition and Local Culture
The Malad Valley Welsh Festival celebrates the people, traditions, and stories that have shaped the community. At Malad Valley Heritage Square, the program includes historic Welsh cottages, traditional foods, live music, storytelling, arts and crafts, language demonstrations, and family activities. The historic Welsh Kitchen adds to these cultural experiences with Welsh cakes, Bara Brith, Cawl, and other traditional recipes.
The different program events give Welsh culture several ways to express itself: food alongside music, language, stories, and arts and crafts. If you plan to include the festival in your trip, check the current dates and program details in advance.
Explore Malad’s History at Your Own Pace
The free Historical Walking Tour in Malad City is a self-guided tour of historic sites. Each stop has an information board with a short text. This lets you explore local history stop by stop, rather than learning about it only as part of a museum visit. Comparing the historic sites offers another perspective: the courthouse brings together its construction date, Art Deco style, and a later register listing; at the Presbyterian Church, you can distinguish the start of religious activity in 1876 from the building’s addition to the register in 1979.
Fishing, Forests, and Outdoor Trails
Devil Creek Reservoir lies 8 miles north of Malad City and is visible from Interstate 15. It offers trout fishing and is heavily stocked with catchable-size rainbow trout. Most anglers fish from a boat or from the shore around the dam. Deep Creek Reservoir offers a different specific highlight: it is a recommended fishing spot in Oneida County and covers 162.7 acres. The two waters therefore offer different points to consider when planning: Devil Creek is noted for its trout stocking and fishing methods, while Deep Creek is noted for its size and recommendation as a fishing spot.
At Malad Summit Campground, the surroundings are shaped by dense forests of maple and Douglas fir; snow falls there in winter. Visitors can hike, ride horses, and drive off-highway vehicles on nearby trails. The 12-mile multi-use Summit Trail is also close by. The forest landscape, winter snow, and several ways to use the trails offer a different focus here than the fishing waters or historic sites.
Discover more destinations: Malad City, Owyhee, Shoshone County, Gem County, Bannock County, Bonneville, Ada, Canyon.
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