Vernonia Pioneer Museum

The Vernonia Pioneer Museum: A great way to spend a day for the whole family.

Hours:
Saturday, Sunday 1-4 PM
Will open by appointment

Address: 511 Bridge St E, Vernonia, OR 97064
Phone: (503) 429-3713

Admission: FREE
Of course, donations are always welcome.
Museum membership is $5 per year for an individual, couple or family.

An early picture of Vernonia, Oregon:

The Vernonia Pioneer Museum Association is dedicated to recording and preserving the history of the City of Vernonia and the Upper Nehalem River Valley.

Its mission is to educate, display, research, and preserve the history of this area.

In the early days of Oregon forestry, lumber mills were the heart of a large percentage of towns across the state. Vernonia is one of the few mill towns that is still a vibrant community.

A visit to the museum is a great way to spend a few hours learning about early life in a historic mill town.

The building that houses the museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Oregon–American Lumber Company Mill Office and is loaded with displays, many contributed by Vernonia’s founding families who were part of that history.

There are tools, clothing, and household items, as well as an extensive photographic collections. For those who enjoy prying more deeply into the past, the museum contains a wealth of documentation about local pioneer life and logging operations, in addition to blueprints and paper records of the Oregon-American Mill that was built in 1923 and demolished in the late 1950’s.

Each year the museum hosts over one thousand visitors and logs nearly an equal number of volunteer hours. The Vernonia Pioneer Museum opened in 1963 and is the largest of the Columbia County museums. Stop by, browse, and chat with one of the knowledgeable volunteers. There’s something for everyone at the Pioneer Museum.