Such a cool historical building!…read more The firehouse is open to the public Wednesdays and every second Saturday of the month. I believe you can schedule tours and private events at other times, and they do some special events (like photos with Santa). If you're local or enjoy Portland history, I think it's worth a visit. It won't take you all that long. The official tour takes an hour but we walked through in about 15 minutes. It's a great indoor activity for the fireman-loving kid or to assist in a fire safety talk with your children. Things inside the firehouse include: -An emergency response simulator -A fire pole that kids can slide down (!) -A dispatch board exhibit -An exhibit about the destructive power of fire -Antique equipment like hoses, carts, water tanks, etc -Info about the building's history including chew marks from the horses that used to be stabled here

They are only open every Wednesday and the second Saturday of each month. In September 2024, that…read morefell on the same day as the Belmont Street fair. This museum was quite amazing. I did not get a chance to really talk to any of the people working. There was just so much to look at. My favorite was the cab of the firetruck that is a simulator of what it is like to be in the truck when called out for an emergency. Free admission, I recommend this for anyone in the area.

For me this was a great place to visit. As a child my father worked for the Union Pacific…read more Railroad and was often working out of Troutdale. I spent a lot of time in this depot and watching the trains from the platform.

Don't forget to check out the Pearson Air Museum during your visit to the Fort Vancouver National…read moreHistoric Site. It's a free museum that houses many artifacts related to aviation history tied to Pearson Field and Vancouver Barracks. Quite interestingly, the museum discusses the Spruce Mill (which is located quite literally on the ground you're standing on) which produced lumber for planes during WWI. It ran 24/7. There are lots of planes here on display, and also houses the first plane flown by Leah Hing. She's the first Chinese American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States, and paved the way for aviation for future generations to come. There's also a small balcony area dedicated to the Chkalov transpolar flight. Three men flew sixty-three hours and sixteen minutes over the North Pole, from Moscow to Vancouver. The landing at Vancouver was unplanned as they were running out of fuel, but they had a warm welcome here. Overall, the museum was very informative and a great way to spend a few hours.

If there is an aviation museum, consider me a 12 year old boy, I am in. The Pearson Air Museum,…read morelocated in Vancouver, Washington, is a tribute to aviation history, particularly that of the Pacific Northwest. It was awesome. It's within the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site and is home to Pearson Field, one of the oldest continuously operating airfields in the U.S (1905). Pearson Field is named after Lt. Alexander Pearson, an aviator who set airspeed records in the 1920s. During the interwar period, Pearson Field became a hub for innovative aviation, seeing visits from famous pilots like Charles Lindbergh. This is a must do! It's free and amazing.

My students had a fantastic time here, and so did I! The exploration of this historic gem was…read morestructured while still being hands-on and immersive. The staff was a hoot as they were knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and invested in their roles. It was such a memorable experience for my students and I would highly recommend it to other educators!

Well this was a cool little spot. The kids and I got a lot of history lessons today about the…read moreOregon Trail and original Oregon settlers. Very cool stuff!!! We got to experience so many different parts of the farm. From washing laundry to sawing wood, to building a Lincoln log house!! I tried taking lots of photos for Yelp!! The whole experience was pretty cool. I was also SO thankful I had taken allergy medicine as the Cottonwood was TEARING through there. We had just about perfect weather Tobe outside and experience this. I will say that the Blacksmith was a bit of a verbal biter to the kids though. My son (who is a total stick,) was asked by him to pull on something and he couldn't. The Blacksmith said "do you know why you can't? Because you're a wimpy kid. And NONE of you can because you're ALL wimpy kids." One of the kids said "you're mean!!!" And he said "Yes I am. And I LIKE IT!!" That shocked both myself and the teacher that was there. It was almost hard to believe it had happened. But it did. Maybe polish on the skills when talking to 10 year olds sir. Other than that a cool experience.

Came here for the heritage holiday event, which includes free entry to both the McLoughlin House…read moreand the neighboring Barclay House. We enjoyed it. People were dressed up in period costumes and showed us around the McLoughlin House - it was neat to learn the history, though it could have been made more engaging, particularly for younger people. The house is very dark and it's hard to see - it will be nice to return after the renovation to see it in a better state. The Barclay House is half office, with the other rooms set up as a gift shop and multi-purpose room. Also, the McLoughlin's are buried on the grounds, so that was interesting.

So glad this important piece of history was saved for posterity! John McLoughlin is the Father of…read moreOregon - even through he was a British subject, Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Ft Vancouver, Oregon Country. Oregon City is well worth a day to explore - and this museum should be part of your day. 5 excellent historic preservation stars!

Stop by on a Saturday morning after Gresham Farmers market. A very lovely lady greeted me at the…read moredoor. A lot of historical maps of Gresham in the early 1990s. There was an old historical cash register and a piano. A lot of historical information regarding Gresham. Lots of old costumes dating back. It was a nice adventure. Makes you proud to look at old artifacts from Gresham.

I felt uncomfortable there on June 29th during the Voices of Gresham podcast The lady who works…read morethere and in charge of displaying things was very unfriendly and stand offish. She wrote the wrong information without checking facts about Taliban coming into power in Afghanistan in "1984". I told her Taliban didn't exist then. They came more than a decade later. She looked at me in a very irate manner "Well I just wrote what she said (the woman who gave her info about Afghanistan). I told her well it's wrong, explaining about when Taliban came into power. The museum lady said "I'll research it" and walked away talking to others. I've never been felt unwelcomed and felt horrible vibes from somebody who supposedly cares about the museum or cares about facts. I'm Afghan, and I told her I was. She didn't care. She wasn't rude. She was just very stand offish and annoyed that I was even talking to her.

The Musuem is officially open as of July 2025, after being closed for renovations since 2009…read more Musuem is located at Camp Withycombe, an active facility for Oregon National Guard. You must present valid identification at the gate before proceeding to musuem. The displays show Oregon military history from it's settling in the 1800's through current times. It has an incredible vault displaying military weapons through history and an art exhibit created by veterans. There are many volunteers on site who are eager to answer questions and inform about the history of the exhibits. In the back, there is a library for research and archives of the military. The library is open by appointments only on Thursdays and Fridays. I found the 7051 nails being pounded on plank of Douglas Fir representng each of US Servicemen that were killed during Afghanistan and Iraq Wars quite sad. You see it physically in front of you and it's a memory of how many we lost during the wars. All things considered, it is an amazing experience with multiple trips needed to fully absorb everything on display or to see new items as some displays have new items rotated in. The Musuem is open from Wednesdays to Saturdays 10am to 4pm. Year round.

This museum has many impressive displays following various time periods from the spanish-American…read morewar through WW2 accompanied by plaques with explanations about the people, munitions, armament, clothing, food, etc. that were involved. Unfortunately, a lot of the explanations have revised histories that fit a modern trend to negatively over simplify America's motives & to demonize people who were actually saints. Still, the staff was wonderful & generous with their time and knowledge.

It's Portland Heritage and History!!! We should always seek out knowledge and what a great place to…read moregain a little history and knowledge. The house is a time capsule it's a little eerie, it's staged as if they went on Holiday and never returned. From the authentic period clothing on mannequins that can also be found in photos, to their Knick-knacks and memorabilia. It's like stepping back to the early 1900's. The house isn't Pittock Mansion Status, but it shows the working family farm life and the docets are very informative and point out little tidbits of history to watch for as you wander the property on a self guided tour. Total time in the house was about 30minutes and another 15 exploring the gardens and farm area. Pretty good activity on a cloudy day we took 2 teens and they found everything interesting. 4 stars because the building is in dire need of repairs.

We visited the house for the Winterville holiday festival. Based on the website, it seems like 2016…read morewas the first year this took place, so it's a new event. Essentially, the event is only for two weekends in December. The house was decorated for the holidays a la Pittock Mansion. In one of the rooms they had amateur string players playing holiday music, and there were a few docents around the house providing historic information on the home. The house itself was decorated with Christmas lights, and they also had a sort of Christmas light garden out front. Outdoors next to the house they had a cute wooden sleigh with a decent Santa. Pictures with Santa (with your personal camera or phone) were included in the admission price. Next to that was a tent with concessions and live holiday music. They had alcoholic beverages for purchase as well as hot chocolate and non alcoholic cider for the kids. While we were there we heard choral music from what looked to be a high school choir. There was a vendor fair as well, but, frankly, it was terrible. Not sure if they normally have more vendors and no one showed up due to concerns over road conditions, but there were like three booths, and the tent was mostly empty. Parking was at the business center across the street, and there were volunteers to safely walk you across the road. Overall, this was a cute little event. The price was a little high for a winter event, in my opinion, but it was pretty reasonable considering the fact that it also included the tour of the historic home as well as all of the Christmas displays.