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Oregon Historical Society
The Oregon Historical Society is
an association that formed to promote and encourage the history of
the state and in a broader sense the nation; that was started in
1898. It gets, saves and shows various materials that are of
historical content and interest, as well as collaborating with other
groups or persons with likewise aims. It operates the history center
that includes the Oregon Historical Society Museum in downtown
Portland, Oregon. The society started in December, 1898 in Portland
at the library building and the first president was Harvey W. Scott
with a membership total of 370 the first year. Just after forming,
it opened its first museum in the Portland City Hall and started to
develop a regional research library with historical relics. In 1900,
their first issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly was printed and
in 1917 it moved to the public auditorium, and finally in 1966, came
to its present location. The society's archives, museum and research
library holds about 8.5 million feet of film and video, more than
2.5 million photographs, 16,000 rolls of microfilm, 8400 hours of
oral history that cover more than 2100 interviews, 30,000 books,
12,000 feet of documents, 85,000 relics, and 25,000 maps. It's
photograph collection is one of the biggest in the country. One of
the most important relics in the museum is the Portland Penny, which
helped decide the city's name; it is an 1835 copper penny that had
been tossed to see if the name of the city would become Boston or
Portland, and obviously Portland won. Part of the Oregon History
Center or rather part of the outside of it, is a huge mural that was
painted by Richard Haas the depicts the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Other relics of prominence in the museum is Captain Robert Gray's
storage chest from aboard the Columbia Rediviva; the ship that went
to the Pacific northwest for the fur trade and also the first
American ship to circumnavigate the world, a 10,000 year old sandal,
a miniature vehicle collection, Native American relics, memorabilia
from the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition and numerous everyday
items from dresses to jars. Permanent exhibits include Oregon My
Oregon, Battleship Oregon: Bulldog of the Navy, and Oregon Art. The
Oregon My Oregon exhibit is a 7000 square foot display that spans
the state's history from its early settlement to the present period.
Some of the more prominent relics include a 1940s era mercantile
store, a 9000 year old sandal, the reproduction of a ship's hull and
a complete lunch counter from a diner. The Battleship Oregon:
Bulldog of the Navy looks at the history of the historic ship that
carried the state's name and made famous by the trip to Cuba in the
Spanish-American War of 1898; with the exhibit looking at the
effects of the ship on history and its own history from construction
through demise. It talks about the captain and life on board the
ship. In the Oregon Art display there are changing works of
art that tries to educate the museum's visitors about the artists of
the state, from its pre-statehood to today. Artists works contain
the works of Joseph Drayton of the 1841 Wilkes Expedition to Oregon
Country.
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