When the Corvallis Museum opened in 2021, several folks in and around Philomath had concerns that the old college building in town would be left behind. Regular exhibits and programs have continued to be offered and community events have occurred in the building and on the front lawn.
But the time has come for the Benton County Historical Society to give the historic building a little love.
“There are multiple facets to what we’re trying to do here,” BCHS Executive Director Jessica Hougen said Thursday during an interview in the local museum. “But in essence, we want to do better for this building. We want to do better for the residents of Philomath and the rural parts of the county. We know those folks come here — they’re not coming to us in Corvallis.”
As part of the renovation effort, the historical society is hosting a series of Community Conversations to collect information and comments from the public. The first of three of the events is scheduled to go from 2-4 p.m. Saturday. Two other sessions are scheduled for 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. June 19 and 3-5 p.m. June 24.
“I have heard from many people here that there was consternation among the residents of Philomath, in particular, when we were building the Corvallis Museum that we would stop upgrading this museum, which was never part of the plan and will never be part of the plan as long as I’m here anyway,” Hougen said.
However, she said it’s time to take action through a project that includes preservation, accessibility and other infrastructure needs.
“But it’s also become apparent to me that it’s past time for us to put some love and attention and frankly, money, into this building,” Hougen said. “We have spent quite a bit of money building the collection center, quite a bit of money building the Corvallis Museum and we’ve never really invested in this building in the same way, so it’s past due.”
The Philomath Museum building is an icon for the small Oregon community of nearly 6,000 people. Originally Philomath College, it was constructed in 1867 and served various purposes over the decades even after the educational institution closed in 1929. In the 1970s when talk of tearing it down started, a group of citizens came together to save it. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and it opened as a museum in 1980.
Hougen said the building has significant accessibility issues and the organization would like to try to get in front of restoration and maintenance needs instead of reacting when issues come up. On top of that, the BCHS has a few other things in mind.
“We would like to figure out if we can incorporate some permanent exhibitry in this building that talks more about the story of Philomath, the rural parts of the county, the industries that have been important in the rural parts of the county,” Hougen said.
The museum would also like to create a dedicated education space for visitors, school groups for example.
“When we do education programs, they’re just out in the gallery so every other visitor gets to encounter that as well, which some visitors don’t mind but some visitors would rather not have a bunch of kids doing some program in the middle of the gallery when they’re trying to enjoy the exhibit,” she said.
The Benton County Historical Society’s board of directors includes 15 volunteers with Kelly Gallagher in the position of board president, Janet Nishihara as vice president, Susan Klinkhammer as secretary and Cody Hull as treasurer.
“They’re very active and just very supportive of the staff and what we’re trying to do, which is phenomenal,” Hougen said.
Shortly after Hougen arrived as executive director in 2021, the organization started working on a strategic plan. Within that structure, a master plan exists but one that specifically addresses needs and issues at the Philomath Museum building is being developed as a sub-plan.
“The master plan is not going to get into what exhibits we plan to do, it’s not going to be at that level,” Hougen said. “It’s really about the structure and the care of the structure and how we use the structure and also the spaces around it. We’re going to be considering all the green space we have and what we can do with that to serve the community.”
Hougen said the BCHS has brought in an architect named Peter Meijer to work on the master planning process. Meijer has a reputation as a top architect with specific expertise with museums, historic structures and solving accessibility challenges. Meijer or one of his staff members will attend at least one of the Community Conversation sessions.
Following the three Community Conversations dates that have been set up, Hougen said the information will be organized and discussed with the board and more specifically, the facilities committee and the executive committee.
“They’ll be getting notes from all of it and they’ll be getting notes from all of the conversations my staff are having about the building,” Hougen said. “That gives them a nice starting point for it.”
The board and committees do have familiarity with the building through several visits. An aging heating, ventilation and air-conditioning unit, accessibility to the building and bathrooms, and other various issues have been identified.
The eventual result will be a plan for moving forward.
As for paying for work to be done, Hougen said some money has been lined up through grant funding and private donations but the organization is still looking for more dollars. She said one of the last donations that came in included a match and meeting that goal will be publicized in the next BCHS newsletter.
