THE REGION’S PAST COMES ALIVE AT THESE HISTORIC HOT SPOTS

You don’t need to be a history buff to appreciate the fascinating and diverse heritage of the Mid-Willamette Valley. From the Kalapuya people who lived here for thousands of years to an eccentric natural-history museum at a 143-year-old monastery and a music-loving communal society that thrived at the end of the Oregon Trail, celebrate Historic Preservation Month — and every month — by exploring the area’s storied historic hot spots.

5/8/25

Willamette Heritage Center | Image Credit: Joshua Rainey

THE KALAPUYA TRIBE, VICTORIAN HOUSE MUSEUMS AND FIRE TOWERS IN SALEM

Willamette Heritage Center
Go back in time at Salem’s five-acre Willamette Heritage Center, where 14 historic structures and changing exhibits offer peeks into the lives of the Kalapuya people and the Euro-American immigrants who settled in the area in the 1840s. Tour some of the oldest frame houses in the Pacific Northwest, two of them are wheelchair-accessible, and see the original machinery of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, the only woolen mill museum west of Missouri.

Bush House Museum
As the original 1878 home of Asahel Bush, founding editor of the Oregon Statesman, the Bush House Museum is both a mirror and a celebration of Salem’s diverse heritage. A guided tour allows visitors to see a significant amount of the Bush family’s original furnishings, from everyday kitchen items to the ornate pump organ and photographs taken by one of the Bush daughters. The upstairs America Waldo Bogle Gallery displays art exhibits meant to redefine the history of the museum.

Deepwood Museum and Gardens
Imagine yourself in Salem’s high society of yesteryear with a guided tour through the meticulously preserved 1894 Queen Anne Victorian house at Deepwood Museum and Gardens. See the opulent parlor and grand period furnishings, then take a leisurely stroll around the verdant five-acre park with formal gardens, nature trails and an original carriage house.


The Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health
This sprawling building is more than just the filming location of the 1975 film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Going back almost a century and a half, the Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health tells the stories of the people who have worked and lived at the hospital through a variety of artifacts, documents, photographs and audio recordings. Catch one of the special exhibits for a closer look at what life was like in the building.

Forest History Center
The whole family will love Salem’s volunteer-run Forest History Center, a free museum and archive dedicated to preserving Oregon’s historic forestry legacy. Take a self-guided tour and see cool artifacts such as old logging and fire-fighting tools, early radios and cameras used for surveying, and learn about Oregon’s fire-lookout towers, wildfires and reforestation efforts.

COMMUNES, CATHOLIC MONKS AND FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

Mount Angel Abbey Museum
Located on a serene hilltop northeast of Salem, Mount Angel Abbey is a Catholic monastery of Benedictine monks that was established in 1882. Take a self-guided walking tour of several historic buildings that are open to the public, including the Romanesque-style Abbey church — and a free and eccentric Abbey Museum that showcases original art and unusual natural artifacts, such as the largest porcine hairball.

Old Aurora Colony Museum
People flock to Aurora for the antique shopping, but the charming town’s history is just as impressive. The Aurora Colony was the first communal society in Oregon and flourished for over 25 years. Visit the Old Aurora Colony Museum for a self-guided tour that offers a detailed Colony history, including a musical-instrument exhibit and pieces of austere Aurora furniture, and peek into the original Ox Barn (1862) and Steinbach Cabin (1876).

The Gordon House by Frank Lloyd Wright
Architecture enthusiasts will definitely want a guided tour of Oregon’s only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house, located at the Oregon Garden. The two-story Usonian–style house (an acronym for United States of North America) was completed in 1963 and includes several architectural elements that were innovative for their time, such as an open floor plan, cantilevered roofs, and floor-to-ceiling windows that merge indoor spaces with the outdoors.

PIONEER LIVING, BLACKSMITHING AND FAMILY TREES

Polk County Museum
Deep-dive into regional history from 1842 to 1960 at the Polk County Museum, 15 minutes west of Salem. In addition to an antique beer-bottle collection (Polk County was once known as the Hop Capital of the World), you can see pioneer-style dresses, historic maps and a life-size replica of a covered wagon. The friendly facility also has an extensive research library for people seeking out their family lineage.

The Brunk Farmstead
Get a sense of pioneer life at the renovated Brunk Farmstead. Built in 1861, the house is a living museum filled with original items from three generations of the Brunk family, including a Story and Clark pump organ, an original rope bed that made its way via the Oregon Trail and a glass marble collection. The original granary and outhouse are on the property, and a machine shop stocked with antique tools holds blacksmithing classes the second Saturday of each month.

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