Alaska’s Hammer Museum

A collection of hammers and mallets in Haines really nails the subject.Cobblers in the early 1900s stamped shoe sizes onto leather soles using this spoked marking hammer.

It's one of some 1,800 rare sledges, picks, claws, mallets, beetles, and gavels on display—along with every other head-and-handle tool imaginable—at the Hammer Museum in Haines, Alaska.

The collection includes an 1,800-year-old Roman battle hammer, a Tlingit warrior pick, and a tiny wooden hammer from the Roaring Twenties used to tap applause for jazz musicians at Harlem's Cotton Club.

Open May through September. (907) 766-2374, www.hammermuseum.org [2].

Photography by Matt Davis

This article was first published in May 2007. Some facts may have aged gracelessly. Please call ahead to verify information.