(541) 389-1813 | 129 NW Idaho Ave., Bend, OR 97703

Exhibits at Deschutes Historical Museum

The Deschutes Historical Museum features exhibits that allow you to explore Deschutes County prehistory; area Native American tribal history; early exploration and fur trapping; homesteading the High Desert; logging and Forest Service history; and life throughout Deschutes County over the years.

Current Exhibits

 

 

Cruisin’ 97: Travel and Tourism, 1930-60

Discover a time when neon signs,drive-ins, and roadside attractions greeted visitors as they wound their way from Smith Rock State Park through downtown Redmond and Bend and past Lava Butte. The exhibit is funded by a grant from the Bend Cultural Tourism Fund and an Oregon Museum Grant.

 

 

 

Ms. Reid's Classroom

Go to school like its 1914!
Try your hand at cursive on the chalkboard and discover what it was like to be a student in 1914. Think you could pass the test? Take our diploma questionnaire to find out.

The Forests of Central Oregon

The forests of Central Oregon have always provided for her residents, from the lumber days of small mills to the lumber barons of the Brooks-Scanlon and Shevlin-Hixon mills to the first days of the United States Forest Service. See images and artifacts from the days of Bend’s logging past.

Homesteading in the early 20th Century

Exhibit-7Central Oregon homesteaders were up against the sagebrush and relied on the success of irrigation projects to make their agricultural dreams come true. This wood cookstove from the Vandevert Ranch helps detail what early 20th century life on a homestead was like.

Early Bend Days

Think you’d like to ride in a 1907 Holsman Car? Get up close and personal to one and see!

Percy Armstrong in WWI

Cruise Hwy 97 with the
Historic Deschutes App!

Travel historic sites of Deschutes County with our new app, sponsored by a generous grant from Oregon Heritage and the Bend Cultural Tourism Fund.
Get it on the Google Store or at the Apple App Store.