Experience Oregon Exhibition Catalog

An excerpt from the Experience Oregon exhibition catalog:

Visitors of all ages, and from all parts of the world, come to the Oregon Historical Society each year to learn about Oregon. From its varied geography to its innovative legislation, Oregon is complex and distinctive, filled with people whose stories are the foundation of the state we see today. Whether you were born here, have chosen to make it your home, or are just passing through, it is undeniable that there is something special about Oregon.

For more than a century, OHS has served as our state’s collective memory, gathering and preserving a vast collection of objects, photographs, films, manuscripts, books, and oral histories. Hundreds of these items are on view in OHS’s permanent exhibition, Experience Oregon, an award-winning educational space where visitors can learn about the people, places, and events that have shaped Oregon from time immemorial to today. By making connections across time through broad themes, such as home, movement, and water, the exhibit highlights the diversity of Oregon’s geography as well as people’s historical and ongoing relationships with the land and with each other.

Those themes draw connections to the important conversations of today — both challenging and triumphant. It is our hope that those who visit Experience Oregon, and those who read this accompanying book, will leave with a better understanding of the many ways our past connects with our present — emphasizing why learning about history matters.

Kerry Tymchuk
Executive Director
Oregon Historical Society