FARMINGTON – Before ski lifts and rope tows came into existence, skins were placed on the back of skis to help skiers walk up mountains like Sugarloaf.

Ski equipment, especially items made in Maine like Bass boots and wooden skis, is on display at the Ski Museum of Maine on Church Street, said part-time curator Megan Roberts on Monday.

The museum will celebrate its first year in the Maine Mountains Counties Heritage location with an open house from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and again from 10 to 4 p.m. Saturday. The public is invited to tour the museum during Chester Greenwood Day.

The museum started 10 years ago, she said, but it didn’t have a building until last year when the museum board opted to settle in Farmington. It’s a location central to skiing in Maine, she said, and one that makes interns and work-study students from the University of Maine at Farmington available to keep the museum open from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Skis, including an 11- to 12-foot-long pair on loan from the Phillips Historical Society, are featured, along with boots and the jacket worn by Tom Upham of Wilton during the 1968 opening Olympic ceremony in France and a copy of the “First Book of Skeeing” written in 1905 in Portland.

Skiing in America took off during the 1920s-40s period, she said. The ski industry started booming after World War II. A slice of that history is available in Farmington.

The museum has grown over the year with visitors and children from local school systems stopping to view items made and collected from around the state, she said. Bass boots and wooden skis plus snowboards and the people who have made an impact in the ski industry are recognized, she said.

Settling in to the new home this year, the museum staff also developed a traveling exhibit that highlights old logos and ads from papers and gives an overview of everything, she said. Roberts has been taking the exhibit to fall activities at some of the state’s ski areas, she said.

This year, the organization has tried to build its membership. It also seeks items for display and would welcome donations geared to the sport and to cross-country skiing, she said.

For more information, call 491-5481.