Photo courtesy of Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site
Beyond the Oregon Trail
Visit these museums and institutions that continue to tell the important stories of the American West
The best museums are more than the sum of their parts—more than dusty artifacts, sepia-toned photographs and archaic exhibits. Rather, the best museums take us on a journey through time. They put us in the shoes of those who came before, reveal hidden histories and inspire us to see the world differently.
Across the Pacific Northwest, museums go beyond the oft-told stories of Oregon Trail emigrants and the myths of our region’s so-called “founding fathers.” They explain what life was like for the region’s earliest inhabitants, show how fire and flood shaped our world, and bring the past to life in curious ways.
Photo courtesy of Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site
Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site
John Day, Oregon
In the late 1800s, the neighboring cities of John Day and Canyon City boasted one of the largest Chinese communities on the West Coast—right up there with Seattle and San Francisco. The heart of it all was the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site, originally built in 1865 as an Eastern Oregon trading post. In 1888, Chinese immigrants Ing “Doc” Hay and Lung On transformed Kam Wah Chung into a clinic, general store, bunkhouse and gathering place for the local Chinese community. In 1948, Doc Hay suffered a broken hip and had to travel to Portland for care, hoping to return soon after. He simply locked the door, but never was able to return. The building’s mostly leak-proof interior largely preserved the herbs, liquor bottles and other knick-knacks that had been left behind. Start at the interpretive center across the street, home to stage-setting photographs, videos and artifacts. From there, 45-minute guided tours of the Kam Wah Chung building are given daily between May and October. Advance reservations are recommended.
Photo courtesy of istock/GummyBone
Idaho Potato Museum
Blackfoot, Idaho
It’s not the largest or most flashy museum, but it’s the only one that ends with piping-hot baked potatoes. The Idaho Potato Museum takes a light-hearted, yet well-researched look at the state’s most famous export. Exhibits document the centuries-long history of the vital vegetable, farm equipment shows how it’s cultivated, and an infographic explains the characteristics of the most common varieties grown in Idaho. A gift shop sells potato-themed souvenirs, and the museum’s cafe hosts a full-fledged baked potato bar with all the fixins.
Photo courtesy of Tamástslikt Cultural Institute
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute
Pendleton, Oregon
Just outside Pendleton, the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute (pronounced tah-MUST-slickt) is owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and celebrates the history and culture of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla people. It does so by tracing 16,000 years of regional history through artifacts, artwork and multimedia storytelling. Exhibits examine, among other topics, the fraught relationship between missionaries and tribes, and how boarding schools decimated generations of cultural identity.
Photo courtesy of Museum of History and Industry
Museum of History and Industry
Seattle, Washington
At the southern shore of Seattle’s Lake Union, the Museum of History and Industry takes an interactive approach to thousands of years of local history. Permanent exhibits displayed in the historic Naval Reserve Armory, which served as an Advanced Naval Training School during WWII, pay tribute to the tribes who once patrolled the waters of Puget Sound, and document Seattle’s earliest days, the impactful Seattle World’s Fair in 1962 and more. Stories are occasionally told in surprising ways; a 3D model shows how residents shaped the landscapes around Seattle as the city grew, while the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 is recounted, in musical form, from the perspective of objects that survived the blaze.
Photo courtesy of Tillamook Forest Center
Tillamook Forest Center
Tillamook, Oregon
Between 1933 and 1951, a series of four wildfires—collectively known as the Tillamook Burn—destroyed 355,000 acres of old-growth forest in the Oregon Coast Range mountains. Open spring through fall, the Tillamook Forest Center delves into those horrific fires just outside the community of Tillamook. Exhibits show what the surrounding forests were like before the first fire and a 15-minute, sensory-rich film uses dramatic lighting, sound effects and wisps of artificial smoke to tell the story of the Burn. Outside, lush Douglas-fir trees and thigh-high ferns line hiking trails and show how far the forest has come since then, and is a testament to the natural process of recovery.
Photo courtesy of High Desert Museum
High Desert Museum
Bend, Oregon
The indoor-outdoor High Desert Museum sprawls out across 135 wooded acres between Bend and Sunriver, tracing thousands of years of change through the eyes of its earliest inhabitants, eager miners and even the animals that call Central Oregon home. Life-size dioramas, replica lodgings and artifacts document the lives of regional Native Americans. A replica boomtown, meanwhile, reflects European-American expansion in the late 1800s. And rotating exhibits cover creative topics such as Sasquatch, cowboy culture and the volcanic influence of the landscape. Live wildlife displays include reptiles, river otters and the can’t-miss raptor show, where birds of prey fly just above spectators’ heads.
Photo courtesy of Museum of Idaho
Museum of Idaho
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Idaho occupies a unique place in the American West, figuratively and literally. The modern-day state resides at the doorstep of the Rocky Mountains and at the edge of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and has been home to Indigenous tribes for millennia, with loggers and miners also feeling the pull of the region. The Museum of Idaho invites visitors along on big-game hunts with the area’s first inhabitants—and, by using a high-tech, augmented-reality experience, to capture a mammoth. Another immersive exhibit shows what small towns were like in the late 1800s, complete with several replica businesses.
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