Classic cars out front, hula hoops spinning, paint-by-number kits laid out and a live band warming up — the lawn outside the Philomath Museum will look a little like 1951 on Saturday.
The occasion is the society’s 75th anniversary, and the organization is marking it with a free party running from noon to 6 p.m.
For executive director Jessica Hougen, reaching the milestone carries real weight for an organization rooted in a small community.
“It’s phenomenal that we’ve made it to this milestone,” Hougen said last week during an interview at the museum. “There are lots of small county historical societies around the country, right? But particularly given the growth we’ve gone through in the last few decades, it’s just incredible to still be here and still be doing stuff for the community, and to have the support from the community.”
The society began life in 1951 as the Benton County Pioneer Historical Society with an early emphasis that matched its name.
“Huge emphasis on pioneer history, Oregon Trail at the time, you know, early early history of the area,” Hougen said. “A lot of historical societies kind of focused on that in the early days of formation, and we were formed a little early.”
In fact, the society predates a wave of similar organizations.
“There was actually a really big movement through, like, the ’60s and ’70s of historical societies and museums being founded,” Hougen said. “Being founded in ’51 puts us before that kind of big push.”
Over the decades, the mission has widened. The early focus has “shifted over the years to be a lot more inclusive and to think about history a lot more broadly, not just the early days of the area,” she said.
Volunteer effort
The museum’s home in Philomath has a history of its own. The college opened in the fall of 1867 and operated until its closure in December 1929. The building served as a church for a few decades, then sat empty before its ownership eventually passed to the city of Philomath.
A group of community members changed its fate. They approached the city, Hougen said, arguing that the deteriorating, empty building was “a travesty” and proposing that it be fixed up and turned over to the historical society’s use.
“It’s my understanding the town basically said, well, that sounds great if you guys do the work, so that’s what happened,” she said. “Most of the work that was done to refurbish this building was done by volunteers.”
Volunteers completed the first floor first, and the museum opened in 1980. The second floor opened the following year. After a long-term lease arrangement, the city transferred the building’s deed to the historical society in December 1989.
Plenty of families have stayed connected to the society across the decades, and the anniversary is partly an effort to gather their stories. The society plans to set up a memory station at the event inviting attendees to share recollections — and their contact information “so we can get together with them later and really sit and listen to them reminiscing and learn more about their family’s involvement,” Hougen said.
The 1950s theme is, by Hougen’s own account, simply a nod to the founding decade.
“We just thought it would be fun. People love that era,” she said. “So poodle skirts and classic cars and hula hoops, all the things.”
Classic cars will be parked on the property, and the museum’s current exhibits — “Centuries of Celebration” and the Corvallis Art Guild show upstairs — will be open. Outside, attendees will find lawn games, sidewalk chalk for hopscotch and drawing, hula hooping and the paint-by-number kits that were a popular pastime in the early ’50s.
Live music from Big Fir starts at 3:30 p.m. Cardwell Hill Cellars is providing wine, and food trucks will be onsite all day, including Good Groundz for coffee, Groovy Blenz for acai bowls and Sabor Tamales.
The event is free except for alcohol.
“It’s for our 75th anniversary, but we really wanted to use it as an excuse to celebrate this community that has supported us for those 75 years,” Hougen said.
Looking ahead
The party arrives at a moment of expansion for the society, which now operates museums in both Philomath and Corvallis. Hougen, who is approaching five years on the job, said much of that time has gone toward redefining the organization’s identity as it added the newer Corvallis location.
“We’ve been in Philomath forever and just operated out here, and now all of a sudden we have this big shiny new building in Corvallis, which is not very far, but is worlds apart in terms of how the community operates,” she said.
That growth shows in the staffing. The society had three full-time employees when Hougen started and now has six — though she was quick to add it “still could use a lot more staff.”
Funding remains the perennial challenge.
“As we have figured out what it actually costs to operate two museums in two different towns … our needs are growing,” Hougen said, crediting both the community and the county for steady support.
The society has drafted a master plan for the Philomath building that focuses heavily on addressing accessibility issues, along with rethinking how the structure and its grounds — more than 3-1/2 acres, much of it lawn — can better serve the public.
“We’re having some really exciting talks with the city, with the Chamber of Commerce,” Hougen said, declining to share specifics for now. “A lot of really exciting potentials for the future, and that master plan is going to be key to us moving forward in this facility.”
