Five Oaks Museum facts for kids
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| Former name | Washington County Museum |
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| Established | 1975 |
| Location | 17677 NW Springville Road Portland, Oregon 97229 (at Rock Creek Campus of Portland Community College) Washington County, Oregon, United States |
| Type | private: history |
| Owner | Washington County Historical Society |
| Public transit access | TriMet bus routes 47, 52, 67 |
The Five Oaks Museum is a cool place to learn about history in Washington County, Oregon. It used to be called the Washington County Museum. This museum is located at the Rock Creek campus of Portland Community College (PCC). You can find it north of Beaverton, Oregon.
The museum first opened in 1975. It is run by the Washington County Historical Society. Their main goal is to save and share the history of the area. The museum's spot at PCC's Rock Creek Campus also has a special library for research. Plus, it's home to the original Washington County Jail from 1853!
Contents
Exploring the Museum's Past
The Five Oaks Museum has a long and interesting history. It started with a local historian named Albert E. Tozier.
Early Days of the Collection
In the 1930s, Albert E. Tozier gave his amazing collection of old items, books, and maps to the county historical society. Starting in 1939, these items were shown at the Hillsboro Carnegie Library. Later, in 1956, the Washington County Historical Society became an official group.
In 1962, the society thought about using Shute Park for their museum. They even moved their collections there temporarily. Then, in 1975, the county decided to create a formal history museum. From 1975 to 1987, Washington County managed the museum. During this time, the museum was in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon, at the Heidel Home.
Moving to PCC Rock Creek
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A new museum building was built at the Portland Community College (PCC) campus at Rock Creek. It opened in January 1983. In September 1987, the Washington County Historical Society took over running the museum.
A Temporary Move to Downtown Hillsboro
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In 2012, the museum moved to the Hillsboro Civic Center in downtown Hillsboro. The first exhibits opened there in November 2012. This new space was on the second floor of the building.
One of the first special exhibits there was a traveling NASA show about the Hubble Space Telescope. The old museum building at PCC was updated and continued to be used for storing historical records and for research.
Other exhibits at the downtown location included the history of the "Silicon Forest" in Washington County. This exhibit explored how technology grew in the area. There was also an exhibit about the Bracero Program. To celebrate the new Hillsboro Hops baseball team, the museum also showed an exhibit about baseball history in the county.
Returning to PCC Rock Creek
In September 2017, the museum's board decided to move the exhibits back to PCC Rock Creek. They had hoped more people would visit the downtown location, but that didn't happen as much as they expected. The museum closed in downtown Hillsboro in September and reopened at PCC Rock Creek on October 25, 2017.
Becoming Five Oaks Museum
In January 2020, the Washington County Museum got a new name: Five Oaks Museum. This name honors a special local historic place.
What You Can See and Do
The museum at the PCC Rock Creek campus has a 5,000 square foot facility. It welcomes many visitors each year.
Research and Collections
The PCC Rock Creek location is home to the Robert L. Benson Research Library. This library has over 25,000 images, more than 1,400 maps, and over 500 books. It also holds other historical records and old newspapers. This spot is also where the museum keeps its huge collection of over 40,000 historical items. These items are important to the county's history. You can visit the research library by making an appointment.
Exhibits and Programs
One cool thing you can see at the museum's PCC Rock Creek site is the original Washington County Jail. It was built in 1853! This old jail was moved to the museum in 2004. It used to be inside the museum, but it was moved outside when the museum expanded in 2007.
The museum's collections include all sorts of items. You can see everyday things like sewing machines. There's even a wedding dress from a well-known local family.
The museum has several interesting exhibits:
- This IS Kalapuya Land: This exhibit teaches you about the Native Americans who lived in the area.
- Washington County in a Nutshell: This show features items from all through the county's history.
- There are also changing exhibits and visiting collections. For example, the museum has hosted Oregon is Indian Country from the Oregon Historical Society.
The museum also helps teach the local community about the county's history. They even have a mobile museum that travels around!
