Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, Florence, Oregon
N 43° 58.102 W 124° 06.352
10T E 411290 N 4868953
This museum offers a glimpse into the lives of the first settlers in the Siuslaw Valley area of the Central Oregon Coast.
Waymark Code: WMCNHP
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 09/25/2011
Views: 3
This museum is staffed by volunteers and dedicated to the collection, preservation and sharing of artifacts and history of Lane County, Oregon, and of the Florence area in particular.
The curator of the museum is the dedicated volunteer Fred Jensen who was born on Duncan Island in Florence and has lived in Florence his entire life with the exception of a brief military stint. Jensen has spent years reproducing and displaying photographs that area residents have brought to him, and recording the history presented in the photos, including photos of beached boats, school photos, photos of the construction of Hwy 101 road and bridges. Jensen retired from ownership of a local hardware business, and has made custom frames for the photos, from recycled lumber from an old boat shed.
Jensen and other volunteers have used a voice recorder to capture the stories and history of the area, including tales of how the Siuslaw River was a main transportation route prior to the completion of the highway; there was a schoolhouse boat, mail service boats, and ferries. Remnants of this past river activity is viewable along highway 126, were evidence of old docks and pylons mark traffic areas.
The museum is housed in a two story structure that was originally built in 1905 as a schoolhouse, on the corner of Maple and Second Streets, just a block from Hwy 101. The exhibits are organized in groups, with the downstairs displaying the way the pioneers lived and worked, such as boating, fishing, logging, agriculture, blacksmithing, and includes the tools, furnishings, clothing and personal belongings of some of the first homesteaders and other settlers in the Siuslaw Valley area of the central Oregon coast. The history presented in an audio-visual presentation and includes information on shipwrecks. Museum publications are sold in the gift shop.
while upstairs houses a Native American exhibit with a basket display, and there is also a section that contains military items from the Civil War, both World Wars, and the Korean War. There is a library at the back of the building, where volunteers can assist with research. The library collection includes old newspapers, cemetery records, census data, obituaries, and photos. Museum publications are sold in the gift shop.
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Theme:
Cultural History, Pioneer and Native American artifacts.
Street Address:
Address:
278 Maple Street
Florence OR 9739
Food Court: no
Gift Shop: yes
Hours of Operation:
Open 12-4 most afternoons in summer, except Monday (closed). Winter has reduced hours (call ahead).
Admission: $2 for non-member adults, children under 12 free. Memberships: $15 individual, $20 family
Cost: 2.00 (listed in local currency)
Museum Size: Medium
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
In order to log this waymark in this category, you must be able to provide proof of your visit. Please post a picture of yourself or your GPSr in front some identifiable feature or point of interest either in the museum, or on the museum grounds.