Location
PIONEER-INDIAN MUSEUM
421 SW 5th Street
Canyonville, Oregon 97417
Ph: (541) 839-4845
Hours
OPEN: Wednesday thru Sunday
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
No admission charge.
Donations gladly accepted.
Group tours can be arranged.
Books and DVDs Available at Museum
Annual issues of “Pioneer Days“, books on local history, and historical interviews on DVD are available for purchase
About Us
Located in Canyonville, Oregon, the Pioneer-Indian Museum (operated by the South Umpqua Historical Society) showcases the rich history of Southern Oregon’s Native American tribes and exciting pioneering heritage. The museum offers several buildings with exhibits and displays that highlight the history of the South Douglas County area from the days of the Indians through the coming of the pioneers to a land of forests, rivers and streams.
Our main museum building has displays of furniture, crockery, cooking utensils and needlework donated by the ancestors of the pioneers who traveled with the wagon trains on their difficult journey west. Discover native artifacts, including baskets, beadwork, pestles and a display of tools and beading provided by the Cow Creek Tribe. A large mural by a local artist replicates pictographs drawn hundreds of years ago by the North Umpqua Tribe.
Our Pickens-Matthews building contains agricultural equipment and tools. We proudly exhibit a hack from the Clough family, which may have been built for Joseph Clough, stage driver and rancher, by Charles Bealman, who was the local blacksmith and builder of wagons.
The Bureau of Land Management donated the old Huckleberry Mine gold stamp mill and renovated it. Clint Atherton, a museum member, built a replica of the mine building. Ray Boyd, also a member, helped disassemble and reset the equipment up in the building.
The Pickett Building, donated by Charles and Delores Pickett, contains old tractors and cars and will house our logging and mining exhibits as well as various other items from the Picketts. The new expansion of the building, it is now 20×60 feet, was added this past fall by the Picketts and many other community members and businesses. The Pickett family was responsible for numerous buildings and bridges in the area by providing lumber from their mills beginning with their arrival in Oregon in 1876.
Sights
New Enlarged Pickett Exhibit Building
A wheelwright and blacksmith shop have been added to the Pickett Building equipped with all of the tools needed to build wagon wheels and to forge the various tools needed by the pioneers. A large collection of miniature wagons are displayed in each shop.
Justice Court
The building in which the former Justice of the Peace conducted court was donated to the museum by Chuck and Chun Cha Mauldin when they purchased the property on which it sat. The building is replete with desk and chair, warming stove and albums of marriages performed by the most recently retired Justice, Gloria McGinnis. Justice from 1962-1994 was Nina Pietzold, whose husband built the building for her near Gross Loop in the southern end of Canyonville.
Plank House
DThe Cow Creek Tribe of the Umpqua Band of Indians has constructed, with assistance from Don Day, of Salem, a winter structure of cedar planks. Native plants used as medicine and food are growing near the structure with more to be planted in the spring. An interpretive sign constructed by Ron Ehly of Azalea will provide information about the creation of the plank house and the native plants.
In 2015, the Ford Foundation Leadership Training Cohort Group 2 completed construction of the wagon shed, located at the north end of the Pickett Building. Shown is the new wagon shed proudly displaying our wagons.
They fund-raised and got in-kind donations from many businesses and not only constructed a wagon shed, but gave us mannequins for clothing displays, glass for a display cabinet top, and signs to tell about our museum and where we are located. A plaque was made and placed on the shed to acknowledge the contributions from all of the local businesses. Our deep appreciation to those who gave materials to help preserve these wagons and for all the extra things that were accomplished!
We were approached in 2019 by our South Umpqua/Canyonville Fire Department. They wished to know if we could accept their old 1957 pumper fire truck. We all agreed that it should be under cover but, we had no room for it. A decision was made to add a shed to the east side of the Pickett Building. With the help of Jim Fosback, who explained our need for exhibit space to a number of local businesses, work began with site preparation, permits, a contractor and materials to construct a 20 by 66 foot structure.
The result is an attractive, solidly built shed that enables us to have future expansion space as well as fulfilling our immediate need. It was decided that the fire truck would be more easily seen and appreciated in the shed previously constructed on the north end of the building. The wagons have been moved to the new area, with arranging to be done in the spring.
In spite of Covid 19 our local businesses provided us with the necessary rock, lumber, plywood and materials to create this much needed exhibit space. We are grateful to the following for the part they played in this successful project.
Bunnell’s Overhead Door
Museum History
Our Historical Society was organized as a non-profit corporation in 1969 with the goal of building a museum to house historical artifacts of the communities of Southern Douglas County. During the ensuing years, funds were acquired through donations and grants. In 1983, Lawrence Boyle, president of the Society, donated an acre of land on which to build the future museum. Another significant goal was to produce an annual historical booklet about South County history.
Blog
PIONEER DAYS IN THE South Umpqua Valley
books for 2022 have arrived at the museum. You can purchase a copy here or we will have a booth at Pioneer Days on August 25, 26 and 27.
