The Siuslaw Pioneer Museum presents and preserves the local history of Florence and the Siuslaw Region. Come experience it.
Come get a taste of life as it was more than 150 years ago.
When you visit the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum in Florence you will be transported through time by a diversity of exhibits showing slices of life from before white settlers made their way to the Siuslaw Region up to life in the 1950s. From an authentic dug-out canoe, and first-people’s tools and apparel, to household items of pioneer homesteaders; from early logging and fishing implements to the control panel once used by the drawbridge operator; and one of the first telephone switchboards.
Learn about the hardscrabble life of those who started the logging and fishing industries around Florence in the mid- to late-1800s and see examples of the delicate side of life through the place settings and handiwork of lace and quiltmakers.
Admission
Adults (age 16 and over) $7
We offer free admission to those 15 and under (if accompanied by adult) and all museum members.
Museum Hours
Wednesday through Sunday: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date on special events at the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum.
The museum is closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day through the month of January except for special occasions as announced
How to find the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum:
Location
We are located at 278 Maple St. (corner of 2nd & Maple), just one block down Maple off of Highway 101, or just two blocks north of Bay St. where many of the shops, galleries, and restaurants are located in Historic Old Town Florence. Get Directions
Phone
Mailing address:
Siuslaw Pioneer Museum Association
PO Box 2637
Florence, OR 97439
Meet the entrepreneurs who built and failed at industry, and rose up to build again and succeed.
You are sure to gain an appreciation of a simpler but far-from-easy time where neighbors helped neighbors as a daily practice; when the river, dunes, beaches, and ocean were the local highways between communities; and about those now long-deserted communities reclaimed by magnificent forests and dunes.
Then, take the museum’s historic walking tour of Historic Old Town Florence to learn about the architecture, the builders, the commerce, the scoundrels and scallywags, and the community do-gooders that shaped the direction to create what Florence is today.
Who we are
Our mission is to preserve and present the rich history of life in the Siuslaw Region for the enrichment of our local residents and visitors from around the world. We are an educational and repository facility that demonstrates the history, the vision, vitality, values, and culture of the peoples of the Siuslaw Valley and coastal region. Read more…
What’s Happening
Check back frequently for information on changing exhibits, contributions of new items, new research materials, and events like Loom Ladies, Story Time, guest lecturers, and more. View our Calendar here.
Membership & Support
When you join the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum you help preserve and present the rich and diverse history of the Siuslaw Region for schoolchildren, academic researchers, vacationing families, and our community. Click here to join us.
What’s at our Museum
Who were those characters? The dreamers and schemers, the planners and builders, the loggers, fishers, ranchers, and farmers—and how did they live? What drove them to leave loved ones behind and forge a trail to the farthest reaches of the continent? How did they get here, what did they wear, eat, and use to get around? Get a sneak peek into the Museum here.
He Towed it Like A Log
William Barnhardt had to move a couch upriver from Florence to Mapleton. It was too long to put on the boat endwise and give him room to steer, so he laid it crosswise. He got partway upriver and his engine stopped. He had to lie across the couch to work at it, and finally, when he got it going again it started with a jerk and the couch slid off into the river with William on tip. Luckily the steering wheel was turned just enough so the boat went round and round him, and at last got near enough for him to reach it. He managed to get himself over into the boat, but the couch was so waterlogged he could not pull it in and so towed it the rest of the way to Mapleton.
The Siuslaw Pioneer 1951
(Siuslaw National Forest & pioneer families), Pg 39
