The Stephen and Zilphia Bristow Rigdon ranch, near Pine Openings (or the Pine Opening) on the Central Military Road east of Oakridge. Scene shows rustic log cabin with split-shake roof and stone chimney in a clearing. Left to right are Zilphia Rigdon, foster daughters Grace and Flo Marks (with dog) and Stephen Rigdon. The Pine Opening was where rescuers from the Willamette Valley met the members of the Lost Wagon Train of 1853. c.1890 - Catalog Number: GN5846

Oregon Trail Celebrations, Driving the final railroad track stake for the 1926 Oregon Trail to Rail Pageant. Scene shows young girl kneeling beside track and holding stake while unidentified man pounds it with mallet; crowd surrounds pair in forest clearing. Behind the young girl are ”King Klamath Falls”, and ”Queen Eugene” wearing bridal dress and veil; roles were played by Keith Riggin and Josephine Stofiel. Their mock marriage represented the union of western and eastern Oregon by Southern Pacific Company’s Natron Cut-off railroad route over the Cascade Mountain summit. This was Eugene’s first Oregon Trail Pageant. 1926 - Catalog Number: CS413

Lane County has 13 history museums formerly joined together informally in the Historical Museums Coalition of Lane County (HMCLC):

• Applegate Pioneer Museum
• Bohemia Gold Mining Museum
• Cottage Grove Museum
• Dorris Ranch
  • www.willamalane.org
• Junction City Historical Museums
  • www.junctioncity.com/history
• Eugene Masonic Cemetery and Hope Abbey Mausoleum,
  • http://www.eugenemasoniccemetery.org
• Lane County Historical Museum
  • www.lanecountyhistoricalsociety.org
• Museum of Natural and Cultural History
  • www.natural-history.uoregon.edu
• Wayne Morse Family Farm
  • www.waynemorse.org
• Oakridge Museum
  • www.oakridgemuseum.com
• Oregon Air and Space Museum
  • www.oasm.info
• Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House
  • www.smjhouse.org
• Siuslaw Pioneer Museum
  • email: museum@winfinity.com
• Springfield Museum
  • www.springfieldmuseum.com
• Creswell Historical Museum
  • email: creswellmuseum@centurytel.net

An additional specialty historical museum, without a website is the Qwest Pioneer Telephone Museum at 112 E. 10th Ave., Eugene, open10:00-2:00, Thursdays only. This museum is run by retired telephone company employees. Admission is free. No website.
Phone: (541) 747-8405.

Of the 14 HMCLC museums, 7 are members of MUSE, the county’s formal museum cooperative ( www.museumslanecounty.org ). They are:

• Dorris Ranch
• Eugene Masonic Cemetery and Hope Abbey Mausoleum
• Lane County Historical Museum
• Oregon Air and Space Museum
• Springfield Museum
• UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History
• Wayne Morse Family Farm

Of the 14 HMCLC museums, 6 are members of the statewide Oregon Museums Association (www.oregonmuseums.org). They are:

• Bohemia Gold Mining Museum
• Cottage Grove Museum
• Lane County Historical Museum
• Oregon Air & Space Museum
• Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House
• UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History

The Conger Street Clock Museum (www.conger-street-clock-museum.com). is a privately-owned museum located at 730 Conger St., Eugene and is a member of MUSE.

Relatively new and privately-owned museum is the U.S. Cavalry and American Indian Museum in Blue River, www.uscaaim.com.

Not yet open, but our newest museum abuilding, is the Oregon Coast Military Heritage Museum in Florence, www.kilroycorps.com.

Teachers: A unique hands-on traveling museum which can come to your school; operated by two retired and dedicated teachers. Traveling Children’s Heritage Museum, www.oregonmuseums.org under the "Willamette Valley" link or www.lane.k12.or.us/ushistory/products/tchm/index.html