Deschutes Historical Museum and Society

Reflections of History: An Architectural walking tour
2025-08-30 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Deschutes Historical Museum, 129 NW Idaho Ave., Bend, OR
Reflections of History: An Architectural Walking Tour
Stroll through the Drake Park Neighborhood Historic District and take a step back in time when walking was the thing to do, and neighborhoods were all about proximity. Participants will be introduced to the architectural styles represented in the neighborhood, hearing stories of a changing community.
Tour begins and ends at the Deschutes Historical Museum.
May 10 & 24, June 14 & 28, July 12 & 26, August 16 & 30
Time: 10:30 a.m., approximately 90 minutes
Length: One (1) mile through historic neighborhood. The sidewalks can be uneven.
Space is limited, RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED
Tours are subject to change and cancellation.
We recommend the following: Comfortable walking shoes, dress for the weather, bring water.
Tours are led by knowledgeable museum volunteers.

Legacy Business Reception and Social
2025-09-06 14:00 - 16:00 | Deschutes Historical Museum, 129 NW Idaho Ave., Bend, OR
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Deschutes County Historical Society. As part of our celebration, DCHS is shining a light on other legacy businesses around Deschutes County that have reached 50, 75, or even 100+ years, as well as business owners who were born in Deschutes County. As we reflect on our own history, DCHS strives to ensure we preserve the stories of businesses throughout the county as well.
We have invited businesses with strong ties to the Deschutes County community for a celebration, and we encourage our members and the public to help us to celebrate these “legacy businesses.”
Join us on the lawn of the Deschutes Historical Museum for socializing, root beer floats, and strawberry shortcake. Business owners will be available to share objects, stories, pictures, and reminisce about the history of their business.
Free with museum admission.

Oregon Festival of Cars: CANCELLED
2025-09-13 | Deschutes Historical Museum, 129 NW Idaho Ave., Bend, OR
9/4/25: CANCELLED BY EVENT ORGANIZERS DUE TO POTENTIAL AIR QUALITY ISSUES
The Oregon Festival of Cars has been recognized by many as their favorite car event of the year.
The first 50 or so cars will be parked on the grass. Parking will be from 8:30 – 9:30 am. The rest of the group will be parked on contiguous asphalt. Being downtown will give you easy access to coffee shops and restaurants and shopping.
Free and Family Friendly

Hollinshead-Matson Homestead Museum Open House
2025-09-13 10:00 - 13:00 | Hollinshead Park, 1235 Northeast Jones Road, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
The Hollinshead-Matson Homestead Museum at Hollinshead Park
The Hollinshead-Matson Homestead Museum offers visitors a look back to life in Central Oregon in the 1940’s.
Join us for a free open house, tour the museum, and hear stories about farming and life in Bend from Sharron Rosengarth, one of the Matson family children that grew up in the homestead house.
Event hosted by Sharron Rosengarth and Bend Park and Recreation District, with support from volunteers and Deschutes Historical Museum.

History Pub: The Lands Everyone Wanted with Jeff Kitchens
2025-09-30 19:00 - 20:00 | McMenamins Old St Francis School, 700 NW Bond St, Bend, Oregon, 97703
The Three Sisters
For over 200 years the U.S. has been trying to figure out what to do with its “public” lands. From surveys to sales, grazing to natural gas development, national seashores to national parks, the U.S. has had a very complicated history of land use. Our public lands are the cornerstone of the history and story of America’s relationship with its land as well as the women and men who forged that relationship. It is this legacy, combined with the modern needs and uses of society, that a multitude of local, state, and federal agencies carry upon their shoulders today. Join Jeff Kitchens, Bend resident and a not-so-novice historian, as he shares the story of America’s relationship with its public lands.
Jeff Kitchens has been working in public land management for over 25 years. His varied career took him throughout the U.S., including Oregon, Montana, Nevada, and Colorado. He worked in wildland fire management, forestry, wildlife management, lands and surveying, mining, and cultural resources, as well as wilderness and wild and scenic rivers. He worked on national projects for two federal agencies’ headquarters and was a field forester, spending eight hours a day marking timber on snowshoes in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In addition to helping manage public lands, Jeff is also the owner of Innovative Leadership, a private firm focused on developing and supporting intuitive, resilient, decisive, and inclusive leaders.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m., presentation begins at 7:00 p.m.
History Pub Tickets

Escape the Museum- SOLD OUT
2025-10-10 - 2025-10-25 | Deschutes Historical Museum, 129 NW Idaho Ave., Bend, OR
The Curse of the Curate’s Collection
New Escape Room Experience, October 10-25, 2025
The Deschutes Historical Museum announces an escape room experience based on real local history. Your team of up to six players work together to find clues, solve puzzles and escape The Curse of the Curate’s Collection. Playing the part of Research Interns, participants assist historian A.R. Chive in locating the missing collection before your rivals do. Oh, and times-a-ticking… you only have 60-minutes on the clock, so every moment is crucial to your escape.
The real history:
In 1909, the Bend Bulletin announced that Rev. J. Anthony Mitchell, local curate and acquirer of antiquities, was “collecting towards a museum” for the community of Bend. After his death in 1911, Mitchell’s relics and curios were frequently exhibited around town, eventually finding a permanent home at the Deschutes Public Library.
However, in 1969, the few remaining items in the collection mysteriously disappeared from a small, locked room in the library’s basement. The only remnants of the once-noted collection, purchased by the public and the city of Bend in 1912 to form a city museum, were never found… Until now!

The Case of the Curate’s Collection escape room experience will kick off October 10 and 11, with additional dates throughout the month of October.
Tickets go on sale October 1 CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
A fundraiser and membership drive, Escape the Museum is sold as an immersive adventure for up to six people. Escape the Museum cost for non-members $180/hour session for up to six players, and Museum members is $150/hour session for up to six players. As a bonus, each non-member purchasing a session receives one free household membership. Grab your friends and family, form a team, and get ready to uncover the location of Father Mitchell’s collection. For more information contact the Deschutes Historical Museum.

History Pub: The Klamath Termination Act of 1954: To Help Native Americans or Take What They Have?
2025-10-28 19:00 - 20:00 | McMenamins Old St Francis School, 700 NW Bond St, Bend, Oregon, 97703
Presented by Perry Chocktoot
In 1954, the Klamath Termination Act of 1954 revoked the federal recognition of the Klamath Tribes which resulted in the sale of their tribal lands. Join Klamath tribal member Perry Chocktoot for a presentation on the history of this termination, its impacts, and the long fight for tribal restoration.
Perry Chocktoot is a member of all three of the Klamath Tribes: Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin Paiute. He was raised in the traditional lands of the Klamath Tribes, and the history of his family is found throughout the area. Chocktoot is the former director of the Culture and Heritage Department, former chairman of the Intertribal Fish and Water Commission, and former member of the Oregon Governor’s Task Force for Cultural Resource Identification. He also conducts the Annual C’waam Ceremony of the Klamath Tribes. Chocktoot’s parents, grandparents and Elders raised him to be self-sufficient and live off of the land and waterways. As a lifelong fisherman, Chocktoot is active in the restoration of the C’waam fishery and supports stream restoration to aid in environmental recovery.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m., Presentation starts at 7:00 p.m.
Reservations required, $5 per person CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Annual Chili Feed and Raffle Fundraiser
2025-11-07 11:00 - 15:00, 2025-11-08 11:00 - 15:00 | Deschutes Historical Museum, 129 NW Idaho Ave., Bend, OR
The Annual Chili Feed and Raffle takes place at the Deschutes Historical Museum over the weekend closest to Veteran’s Day and is the Deschutes County Historical Society’s largest annual fundraiser. The 2025 event will be our 42nd anniversary of the Annual Chili Feed and Raffle, and takes place
November 7 & 8 with chili being served from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day. Museum admission is free throughout the event.
Over 20 raffle packages from local businesses and donors will include potential prizes for adventurers, wildlife enthusiasts, bibliophiles, pet owners, wine connoisseurs, and everyone on your holiday list!

November History Pub: Oregon Search and Rescue Presented by Glenn Voelz
2025-11-18 19:00 - 20:00 | McMenamins Old St Francis School, 700 NW Bond St, Bend, Oregon, 97703
Oregon’s long tradition of volunteer search and rescue dates to the territorial days, when good Samaritans and mountain men came to aid those in need. On the coast, surfmen of the U.S. Life-Saving Service protected mariners traversing the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” In the early twentieth century, outdoor clubs like the Mazamas, the Skyliners, and the Obsidians served as informal search and rescue units, keeping Oregonians safe in the mountains, rivers, and wilderness areas. After World War II, Oregon’s volunteer teams began to professionalize and became some of the most effective units in the country. Join author Glenn Voelz as he recounts the history of Oregon Search and Rescue.
Glenn Voelz served as an intelligence officer for 25 years in the Army, holding senior leadership positions at the Pentagon, the White House Situation Room, and NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. He was an assistant professor of history at West Point and has authored several books on Oregon history, including Mount Bachelor: A History, Oregon Search & Rescue: Answering the Call, and The Oregon Skyline Trail. He serves as a board member of the Deschutes County Historical Society and the Deschutes Historical Museum.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m., Presentation begins at 7:00 p.m. Reservations Required, Click here for tickets
Click here to purchase “Oregon Search & Rescue: Answering the Call”; books will be available for sale at the presentation as well.

Holiday Gelatin Salad Show
2025-12-13 13:00 - 15:00 | OR
Does your family have a weird holiday gelatin salad? Let your freak holiday salad SHINE at the HOLIDAY GELATIN SALAD SHOW Saturday, December 13 at 1 pm. Join the Deschutes Historical Museum in a celebration of weird vintage salad recipes. This Saturday will also complete the last weekend of our Food Drive with KSJJ 102.9 and Backyard Media.
Enter a salad in one of four different categories:

Best Presentation — Knock our socks off with a molded creation Grandma would be proud of!
Most Savory — Gelatin isn’t just for dessert!
Your Family’s Salad Recipe — Let’s face it, there is always that one salad that has to be at every family holiday. Maybe it’s pink, maybe it’s green. Whatever it is, we need to see it. (Bonus points if you have a family photograph with the salad in it.)
Nailed It! Best Ooops You Tried — Just because you bought the mold doesn’t mean you can get it out of the mold. But we don’t care! You gave it your best and we still want to see it.

Entry is simple: print and fill out the Holiday Gelatin Salad Show Entry Form. Arrive with your salad, recipe, and entry form at the Deschutes Historical Museum between 12 and 1 pm on Saturday, December 13. Public viewing begins at 1 pm, judging begins at 1:30 pm. One winner and one runner-up will be selected in each category, with a Best in Show award chosen from the four winners.
For more information about the Deschutes Historical Museum and this event contact us at info@deschuteshistory.org or call 541-389-1813.
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2024’s Best in Show: Rainbow Layered Gelatin by Lorlee Ackerman
