Bolt’s Antique Tool Museum (BATM) is the only known museum of its kind in world, with a display of over 13,000 of the most important items ever invented by mankind: Hand Tools!
This museum is not only an asset to the people of Oroville and its surrounding communities, but also to the county, state, country and the rest of the world too! Discover antique tool displays representing those thought to be made by the Egyptians and the Roman Empire (thought to be dated 400 BC), tools representing the creation of 51 different railroads in the United States, antique gas pumps, a surprisingly interesting barbed wire collection, and so much more.
BATM is bursting at the walls with displays, history, cataloging, information, and extremely knowledgeable docents to help in maintaining the museum. Discover tools across eight different categories in different areas of the museum:
- Area A: Blacksmithing Tools
- Area B: Railroad Tools and Farm Tools
- Area C: Monkey Wrenches and Pipe Wrenches
- Area D: Alligator Wrenches and Other Tools
- Area E: Odd and unusual sizes of tools that are pre-1928
- Area F: Detachable Sockets
- Area G: Vehicle Brand Tools
- Area H: Hubcap Tools
Read more about the Bolt’s Antique Tool Museum and other Oroville museums.
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History of the Museum
Bolt’s Antique Tool Museum began in 1957 when Carl “Bud” Bolt, a representative of Snap-On Tools, started collecting tools. He made presentations to school shop students and found that they were most interested in his collection.
Over the decades, Bud and his wife continued collecting tools, and in 2006, they donated the collection to the City of Oroville.
In 2021, the Smithsonian recognized Bolt’s museum, in their magazine’s “Museum Day Live” article, as the largest documented tool collection in the United States.
Learn More
To learn more, watch the video below or another one from Joel Green and “Our California”
