5 Must-See Museums Around Grants Pass
We all know Oregon is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts and beer lovers, but it’s also a goldmine of culture. From Southern Oregon’s gold rush and pioneer days to its flourishing art scene, experience the art, history, and culture of Grants Pass at these five local museums.
Pottsville Museum
If you consider yourself a history buff, head to Pottsville Historical Museum in Merlin, just a 15 drive from downtown Grants Pass. Take a self-guided driving or walking tour around the property, which features antique tractors, steam engines, mining relics, logging equipment, and other antiques from bygone days. Founded by former Grants Pass mayor and state senator Eugene “Debbs” Potts in 1959, Pottsville is home to thousands of items commemorating Oregon’s past, from its legislative halls to the local logging woods. While there, schedule a free tour inside the museum which showcases a red stagecoach that used to run between Kerby and Crescent City as well as the remnants of a fire balloon dropped by the Japanese during WW2. Museum tours are available by appointment 10am-6pm seven days/week. Leashed dogs and horses are also allowed to tour the outdoor exhibits throughout the property.
Grants Pass Museum of Art
Since its establishment in 1979, the Grants Pass Museum of Art, located in the heart of downtown’s Historic District has showcased regional, national, and international contemporary artists. When the non-profit museum was founded, it was one of only four art museums in the state. Today, it serves as the city’s primary resource for exhibitions, with eight total exhibits a year. The museum, which is free and open to the public, offers workshops for children and adults, as well as monthly events. Some of these special events include concerts, film screenings, poetry nights, and First Friday artist talks. Situated below the museum on G St., Gallery One operates as the museum’s gallery and gift shop. Here, you’ll find paintings, sculptures, jewelry, greeting cards, and more by local and regional artists. During downtown’s First Friday Stroll, the gallery offers live music and demos by featured artists. Visit the Museum and Gallery One Tuesday-Saturday 10am-6pm. After visiting the museum, take a self-guided art tour around the Historic District and view the murals and sculptures along the streets.
Siskiyou Smokejumper Base Museum
During WW2, Japan sent thousands of balloon fire bombs across the Pacific in order to start wildfires on the West Coast. The strategy was to disrupt America’s war effort by causing public panic and reduce resources. In order to combat these attacks, smoke-jumping bases were established in the early 1940s, and one of the first ones built was in Cave Junction, now the home of the Siskiyou Smokejumper Base Museum. In Oregon, the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, who gained fame as the only entirely black airborne unit in United States Army history, spent time fighting forest fires. Nicknamed the Triple Nickles, these pioneering parachuters trained in Pendleton for their special mission, Operation Firefly. During this time, the unit was trained by the Forest Service to become the first military smokejumpers in U.S. history. Throughout their Firefly assignment, the 555th made 1,200 jumps and helped suppress 36 fires. Tragically, one service member, Malvin Brown lost his life after falling 150ft from a tree in Southern Oregon. Further east, a minister and wife took a group of children for a church picnic in the mountains near Bly. One of the children came upon an undetonated bomb and the wife and five children were killed. They were the only American civilians to die in the continental US by enemy fire during WW2.
After the war ended, the base continued its operations of suppressing lightning-caused fires and to this day remains 1-of- 4 original smokejumper bases in the country. Their purpose was to put out small fires in hard to reach places before the fires became large, destructive, and expensive. Some notable smokejumpers that worked at the base include Apollo astronaut Stuart Roosa, Willie Unsoeld who scaled Mt Everest’s treacherous west ridge in 1964, Danny On, the first Asian Pacific- American smokejumper, and Allen “Mouse” Owen who was the smallest marine in US history at 4’11ft tall. The smoke jumping base was active until 1981 and after being remodeled, it’s now a museum that features the oldest standing smokejumper parachute loft in North America. View authentic smokejumper equipment including parachutes, jump suits, firefighting tools, antique sewing machines, as well as archival photos. Their outdoor display features 1940’s Beechcraft jumper planes and a NASA moon tree from Apollo 14. Find the museum along Redwood Highway near Cave Junction. While the museum operates between March 15th and November 15th, visitors can schedule a tour year round or explore the grounds and outdoor kiosks. After visiting the museum, hike the neighboring Rough and Ready Botanical Wayside next to the airport and view rare plants and wildflowers. While strolling around downtown Grants Pass, drop by the Smokejumper Mural at the corner of H and 5th street.
Kerbyville Museum
Founded during Southern Oregon’s gold rush, for nearly 30 years the town of Kerby was the county seat before moving to Grants Pass in 1886. Today, explore relics of the Illinois Valley’s past at the Kerbyville Museum which showcases a robust collection of mining, logging, pioneer, and Native American history exhibits. Their curated treasure trove of historic artifacts date back to pioneer days and include a wagon that followed the Oregon Trail West, a linotype first used by the Grants Pass Courier in the 1880s, an old View Master which was invented at Oregon Caves National Monument, and Josephine County’s first post office. While there, tour an original schoolhouse from 1898, an old miner’s cabin, and the historic Nauke House, built in 1880. From Grants Pass, follow Redwood Highway to Kerby in the Illinois Valley. Visit the museum Thurs-Sat 11am-3pm and Sundays 12-4pm April to October. After exploring the museum, drop by their neighbors at It’s a Burl Gallery and Studio and the Southern Oregon Guild.
Josephine County Historical Society and Schmidt House
While downtown, drop by the Schmidt House Museum and neighboring Research Library, operated by the Josephine County Historical Society. Here you can tour the craftsman-style home with much of its original furnishings and antiques from the turn of the 20th century. Built for Grants Pass grocer Claus and Hannchen Schmidt along with their daughters, the home’s rooms are dedicated to a specific theme, whether it’s a sewing room with needlework by the Schmidt women or the toyroom, complete with a grandiose dollhouse . In their large display room, leaf through photos, maps, and books of Grants Pass’s earlier days, depicting the lives of the homesteaders, miners, loggers, and farmers that settled in the valley. During the warmer months, explore the grounds and their colorful gardens. Throughout the year, the Josephine County Historical Society hosts several fun events, including an Easter Egg Hunt, Pie & Ice Cream Social during the ‘Back to the 50’s’ festival, October’s Pioneer Spirits, and Christmas Past. Take a tour of the Schmidt House Tuesday-Friday 10am-3pm. Visit their Research Library next door which houses an extensive collection of books, family histories, newspapers, obituaries, census records, photographs, and one of the few Microfilm Readers in the Rogue Valley.
Learn more about other historical points of interest, from ghost towns to mining trails in Grants Pass here.
