Lane County History Museum

Last updated

Lane County History Museum
Lane County History Museum
Established1951 (1951)
LocationLane County Fairgrounds, Eugene, Oregon
Coordinates 44°02′42″N123°06′13″W / 44.0451°N 123.1037°W / 44.0451; -123.1037
TypeHistory
Founder Cal Young
DirectorRobert Hart
Website lchm.org

Lane County History Museum, located on the county fairgrounds in Lane County in Eugene, Oregon, United States, has ongoing exhibits on the Oregon Trail, the county courthouse, historic vehicles, selections of artifacts from across the county, and photographs. [1] The museum also provides research materials by appointment in their closed stack library, school tours, a variety of public events, and runs an annual grant program for heritage outreach projects. [2] The museum and the Lane County Clerk's Building near the museum entrance are both administered by the Lane County Historical Society.

Contents

Museum collections and archives

The museum displays ongoing exhibits using their large collection of historic artifacts; antique vehicles from a buckboard wagon to a 1910 Model-T Ford; and the Lane County Clerk's Building. [3] Exhibits on a variety of topics change bi-annually, featuring up to date research and featuring hundreds of artifacts and images. [4] At present, the museum houses an artifact collection of over 10,000 items related to the history of the county, displayed in changing exhibits on a variety of subjects.

Lane County History Museum also houses an archive featuring a collection of materials about Lane County dating back to 1847, including more than 300,000 photographs depicting residents, industries, and street scenes. The collection also includes manuscripts, maps, newspaper clippings, and academic work related to Lane County. [5] In addition, the museum has continued to display memorable favorites like one of the most complete prairie schooners that crossed the country on the Oregon Trail in 1851, as well as a hemlock section with a carving made in 1867, [6] and the original staircase from the 1898 county courthouse.

History

Early days, 1937–1950

Lane County legislator E. O. Potter sponsored a bill approved by the Oregon legislature, authorizing establishment of county history museums. [7] The "Lane County Pioneer Museum and Veterans Memorial Commission" was established in 1935, with Cal Young, known as "Mr. Lane County", as chair. [8] Young had led Lane County's "Oregon Trail Pageant" since 1926, with historical costumes, ox teams, and covered wagons on parade annually. He had also collected a number of artifacts at his farm from pioneer days of the previous century, including a prairie schooner. [9]

By 1937, F. L. Chambers and E. G. Boehnke arranged a property trade with the federal government—land for a new post office site, in exchange for the old post office building to house the county's history museum. Pioneer relics were stored in the basement of the old post office, but other federal agencies needed offices during the war years, so the space was never used as a museum. [10] In 1951, the first Lane County History Museum, described as "a small warehouse museum", [10] 40 by 60 feet (12 m × 18 m), was built at the Lane County Fairgrounds to house the growing collection of pioneer relics. [8] By 1954, to display big logging wheels, the museum added a shed, 25 by 80 feet (7.6 m × 24.4 m) and a covered passage 20 by 140 feet (6.1 m × 42.7 m) for other vehicles. [10] In 1957 the oldest building in Lane County, the Lane County Clerk's Building was moved to the site.

Cal Young became the caretaker for the first few years; when he announced, "I'm getting too old for this museum business", Mrs. E. E. Foss was named the first curator of the museum. [10]

1950–1999

By the early 1950s, the Lane County Pioneer Society was established to support the museum's development.

To compensate for budget cuts due to a recession in the early 1980s, Friends of the Lane County Historical Museum formed in 1984 as a non-profit organization to keep the museum alive. By 1985, funding (and staffing) had been partially restored. By 1987, county officials had considered funding a $30,000 study on whether to build a "Forest Heritage Center" that would incorporate the museum's collection with exhibits on forestry management, logging, and milling. [11] The estimated cost of such a center was $3-to-$4 million; neither the study nor the center was funded. Four years later, even as the museum was characterized by a local reporter as "perennially short of operating revenues and staff", [12] the county administrator proposed cutting a third of the museum's $170,000 operating budget. Intense lobbying of the county's budget committee resulted in partial restoration of the museum's budget, with the provision that "the organization come up with a plan to wean the museum from the general fund". [12] Museum supporters advocated use of the county's car rental tax and room tax funds to restore the museum's funding. [12]

By 1996, Lane County contracted with the newly formed Lane County Historical Society (LCHS) to manage the museum, subsidized by part of the county's Transient Room Tax designated for tourism promotion. [13]

2000–present

In 2003, Lane County Historical Society board hired its current director, Bob Hart, with plans to focus on enlarging the facility and updating the exhibits. [14] In March 2006, the merger of the Lane County Historical Society with the Friends of the Lane County Historical Society was finalized. [15]

Under Hart's direction, the museum has displayed exhibits on a broad range of modern history topics, such as the history of local law enforcement, [16] "Tie Dye & Tofu", [17] "Weird and Wonderful", [18] wine, [19] medical history, [20] logging, [21] contemporary Native American culture, [22] and most recently toys. [23] The museum has also developed interactive outreach presentations such as a "Hands-on U.S. History Traveling Trunk" targeting school children in grades four through twelve, "McKenzie River Stories", which invited guests to record their own stories about the county's main water source, [24] and special events where Director Bob Hart played historical figures Thomas Condon or Joseph Meek. [25] [26]

The museum began digitizing its collection of 300,000 historic photos in 2009, making them available online. [27] A special selection of curated images is also available for browsing.

The museum's subsidy was reduced in 2008 to allow greater county support for Lane County Parks, and was reduced again in 2010, from over $210,000 annually to just over $182,000. [28] In 2012, additional budget cuts required layoffs of three museum employees, whose work Hart said would be covered by recruiting ten additional volunteers. [29] Even with the continuing budget cuts, the museum staff has formed collaborations and extended help to other local museums, and the LCHS and museum were awarded a stewardship certificate for loaning a part-time curator to the Springfield Museum. [30]

LCHS has as yet been unsuccessful in its quest to either enlarge the current quarters of the museum or to relocate it in another facility. When the downtown Eugene Post Office became available in 2010, Hart not only supported its preservation, [31] he reminded the county of the historic claim the Lane County Historic Museum had on the previous post office property. [32] Use of the vacant Post Office building for a new museum was eventually supported by Mayor Kitty Piercy in her state of the city address in 2013. [33] The museum is currently undergoing a number of updates, including exterior renovations and complete exhibit overhauls in their present building.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lane County, Oregon</span> County in Oregon, United States

Lane County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 382,971, making it the fourth-most populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Eugene, the state's second most populous city. It is named in honor of Joseph Lane, Oregon's first territorial governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civic Stadium (Eugene, Oregon)</span> Outdoor athletic stadium

Civic Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, located in Eugene, Oregon. For most of its history it was owned by the Eugene School District. Opened in 1938, the stadium was destroyed by fire in 2015 on June 29.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keweenaw National Historical Park</span> U.S. national historical park in Michigan

Keweenaw National Historical Park is a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. Established in 1992, the park celebrates the life and history of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2009, it is a partly privatized park made up of two primary units, the Calumet Unit and the Quincy Unit, and 21 cooperating "Heritage Sites" located on federal, state, and privately owned land in and around the Keweenaw Peninsula. The National Park Service owns approximately 1,700 acres (690 ha) in the Calumet and Quincy Units. Units are located in Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goshen, Oregon</span> Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States

Goshen is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the junction of Oregon Route 58, Oregon Route 99, and Interstate 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Electric Railway Passenger Station</span> United States historic place

The Oregon Electric Railway Passenger Station is a historic railroad station in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was built in 1914 as a station for the Oregon Electric Railway and was designed by A. E. Doyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Five Oaks Museum</span> History museum in Washington County, Oregon, United States

Five Oaks Museum, formerly known as the Washington County Museum, is a history museum in Washington County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the Rock Creek campus of Portland Community College (PCC), north of Beaverton, Oregon. From 2012 to 2017, its public exhibit space was located in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon, before it was moved back to PCC, its pre-2012 location and where the museum's research facility had already been located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Historical Society Museum</span> History museum in Portland, Oregon

The Oregon Historical Society Museum is a history museum housed at the Oregon Historical Society in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The museum was created in 1898 and receives about 44,000 visitors annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh County Historical Society</span> Historical museum in Pennsylvania, U.S.

Lehigh County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1904, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The Historical Society and Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum are located at 432 West Walnut Street in Allentown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendling, Oregon</span> Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States

Wendling is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States, located northeast of Marcola. Wendling's post office operated from 1899 to 1952. It was named for George X. Wendling, a local lumberman. Wendling was created as a company town for the Booth-Kelly Lumber Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodpasture Bridge</span> Place in Oregon listed on National Register of Historic Places

The Goodpasture Bridge spans the McKenzie River near the community of Vida in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is the second longest covered bridge and one of the most photographed covered bridges in the state. The Goodpasture Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Disston is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States, southeast of Cottage Grove where Brice Creek and Layng Creek join to form the Row River. It is about a mile west of the Umpqua National Forest. Its post office opened in 1906 and ran until 1974. Cranston Jones—the first postmaster—was also one of the founders of the first sawmill in Disston and the name of the town came from the famous Disston saws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occupy Eugene</span> Protest event in Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

Occupy Eugene was a collaboration that occurred in Eugene, Oregon based on the Occupy Wall Street movement which began in New York City on September 17, 2011. Occupy Eugene included peaceful protests and demonstrations. Protesters were concerned about inequities in the distribution of wealth, banking regulation, housing issues and corporate greed. The first protest march was held on October 15, 2011. The march started at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza and continued downtown before marching over Ferry Street Bridge. It was reported that close to 2000 people were in attendance from all over the state of Oregon. Occupy Eugene continued to hold regular protests and actions until it left the encampment in December 2011. Protesters have stated that they do not have a set group of leaders. Occupy Eugene General Assemblies have met from as frequently as twice a day at times during active occupations, and as infrequently as weekly. Many committees have met since at least the third General Assembly, typically weekly. Decisions are made through a process known as consensus. Occupy Eugene's consensus process operates in a similar fashion to how consensus is being handled in New York City by protesters involved in Occupy Wall Street. Although the exact method varies from Occupation to Occupation. As of October 18, 2011, The Eugene police department was allowing protesters to camp in downtown Eugene, although city law prohibits it. Eugene police also stated that downtown camping won't be permanently allowed.

Cal Marcellus Young, sometimes known as "Mr. Eugene," or "Mr. Lane County," was an American college football coach and a pioneer of Eugene, Oregon. He was the first head football coach at the University of Oregon.

The Eugene Mall was a car-free zone in the heart of Eugene, Oregon, United States, designed to encourage pedestrian access to shopping and entertainment areas. Dedicated on February 13, 1971, the mall opened amid three days of fanfare and dreams of a revitalized downtown. Conflict over the scope and use of the mall began immediately and continued for 30 years until the last remaining parts of the mall were opened to automobile traffic. At that time, a former Eugene mayor commented that the city's dreams for a bright future just hadn't worked. Many residents, however, shared the much-earlier view of a former downtown merchant, that Eugene had sustained more damage from the mall than it would have from a natural disaster.

<i>Flight Patterns</i> Photographic sculpture installation in Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

Flight Patterns, also known informally as Flying People, is a seven-panel photographic sculpture installation of 176 black and white cutouts by David Joyce, designed to be installed in 1989 in Concourse A at the Eugene Airport in the U.S. state of Oregon. During airport construction in 2015–2016, it was moved to Lane Community College. The airport renovations were completed by early January 2017, and all but about 30 of the original Flight Patterns images were reinstalled at the airport in early December 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elijah Bristow</span> American pioneer and Oregon settler

Elijah Bristow (1788–1872) was the first white settler to stake a claim and build a permanent cabin in 1846 in the upper Willamette Valley, in what is now Lane County, Oregon, United States. He and his wife Susannah Gabbert Bristow established the first church and donated land for the first school in Pleasant Hill.

The Ernest and Mary Hemingway House, in Ketchum, Idaho, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The National Register does not disclose its location but rather lists it as "Address restricted." The property is the last undeveloped property of its size within the city limits of Ketchum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayden Bridge (Springfield, Oregon)</span> Iron bridge spanning the McKenzie river

The Hayden RR Bridge, is a truss bridge located in Springfield, Oregon, spanning over the McKenzie River. It initially served as a traditional railroad bridge, starting as part of the first transcontinental railroad in Utah, before moving to its current location as part of the Marcola line, whose primary use was the distribution of lumber. It later closed alongside the area's lumber mills, and became a pedestrian bridge in 2019. It is one of the few remaining wrought-iron, Phoenixville bridges still standing, and the oldest intact bridge in the state of Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mims House</span> Mims House in Eugene, Oregon

The Mims House in Eugene, Oregon is a Gothic-style, single-family home considered to be one of the oldest homes in the area. It is known for being the home of the Mims family, who became one of the first African American homeowners in Eugene when they purchased it in 1948. During the period of racial segregation in Eugene, the Mims family frequently hosted African American visitors to Eugene both at their home and in the adjoining boarding house which they owned. The building is a Historic Landmark located within the East Skinner Butte Historic District. As of 2021, the Eugene-Springfield branch of the NAACP is located in the Mims House, although the home also operates as a museum.

References

  1. "Lane County Historical Society and Museum [OR]". TeachingHistory.org — Lane County Historical Society and Museum [OR]. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  2. "Historic Eugene: Voices and Places". Lane County Historical Society and Museum. 2014. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  3. "Ongoing Exhibits — Lane County Historical Society". lchm.org. 2015. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  4. "Current Exhibits — Lane County Historical Society". lchm.org. 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  5. "Photo Catalog and Collections — Lane County Historical Society". lchm.org. 2015. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  6. McKowen, Ken; McKowen, Dahlynn (November 15, 2009). Best of Oregon and Washington's Mansions, Museums, and More: A Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the Pacific Northwest's Historical and Cultural Treasures. Wilderness Press. pp. 87–88. ISBN   9780899974873 . Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  7. "Group forms to preserve Lane history". Eugene Register-Guard. August 1, 1954. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Hart, Bob (January 2009). "Did you know?" (PDF). The Artifact. Lane County Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  9. "Passing of the Oregon Trail Pageant". Eugene Register-Guard. January 27, 1953. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Hart, Bob (April 2009). "Did you know?" (PDF). The Artifact. Lane County Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  11. "Editorial: Gauge Support for Museum". Eugene Register-Guard. June 21, 1987. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 Neville, Paul (June 4, 1991). "Historical Museum's Not History". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  13. Hart, Bob (October 11, 2012). "Lane County Historical Museum TRT Talk" (PDF). lanecounty.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  14. "A Close-up Look at a Museum". Eugene Register-Guard. September 29, 2003. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  15. Hart, Bob (March 2006). "Time Marches On, Merger Approved" (PDF). Lane County Historical Society & Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  16. Bishop, Bill (December 8, 2004). "Exhibit Logs Police History". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  17. "Tie Dye & Tofu". Tie Dye & Tofu. January 20, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  18. Price, Crystal (October 12, 2011). "Weird & Wonderful: Lane County's peculiar past". KVAL 13. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  19. "All the entertainment events, eight days of the week | Entertainment | Eugene, Oregon". The Register-Guard. October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015. Lane County Historical Museum — "A Taste of Oregon Wine" traces more than 150 years of wine-making in Oregon, through Oct. 30; "What If Heroes Were Not Welcome Home?" a traveling Oregon Historical Society exhibit that examines the prejudice against Japanese-American veterans, through February.
  20. "UO grad cuts into Lane County surgical history in exhibit". Eugene Emerald. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  21. "Logging Oregon". C-SPAN. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  22. "Native American history finds a home in Eugene". LCC TORCH. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  23. "Toys: Historic Playthings of Lane County". KLCC. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  24. "Interactive, multimedia exhibit". Eugene Register-Guard. June 7, 2014. The Lane County Historical Museum, 740 West 13th Ave., is hosting a reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. today for "McKenzie River Stories," a new, interactive, multimedia exhibit that explores Lane County's only water source, the McKenzie River. Guests also will be invited to share their own river stories; lanecountyhistoricalsociety.org.
  25. "Thomas Condon Presentations — Lane County Historical Society". lchm.org. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  26. "Joe Meek & Doc Newell Alive!". nonprofitprnow.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  27. LeBeau, Arrianee (July 8, 2009). "Historic photos of Lane County going digital". KVAL 13. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  28. "County Funding for County Historical Societies" (PDF). oregon.gov. 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  29. Adams, tom (July 19, 2015). "Budget cut layoffs hit Lane County Historical Museum". KVAL 13. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  30. "Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Lane County Historical Museum given stewardship award for helping neighboring organization in need". oregon.gov. March 10, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  31. Russo, Edward (January 24, 2010). "Art deco gem". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  32. "A claim to the post office? | Editorial". Eugene Register-Guard. January 13, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  33. Hart, Bob (January 24, 2013). "Letters to the Editor". eugeneweekly.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.

Official website