On July 24, 2011, the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum was opened to the public for the first time by the Lake County Historical Society and Lake County.

This collaborative project was made possible through a donation of the historic building, and the five-acre parcel upon which it rests. The Ely Stage Stop building has had several incarnations over the years dating back to the 1860’s. It has served as a public house, stagecoach stop, cattle roundup meeting place, hotel, post office, school for wayward boys, general store, and even as a gas station before taking on its current role as a historical preservation center.