Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum facts for kids
Belletable House in front of Fort Rock
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| Established | 1988 |
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| Location | Fort Rock, Oregon, U.S.A. |
| Type | Oregon history |
The Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum is a special place in Fort Rock, Oregon, United States. It opened in 1988. This museum is a collection of old buildings from the early 1900s. These buildings include a church, a school, houses, and cabins. They were all moved to the museum site to create a small village.
The buildings came from different spots around the Fort Rock Valley. This valley is named after a cool volcanic landmark called Fort Rock. Inside most buildings, you can see old items used by the homesteaders. These include furniture, dishes, and tools. You can explore the museum on your own from late May through early September.
History of the Fort Rock Valley
The Fort Rock Valley is a large area, about 200 square miles (518 square kilometers). It sits high up, around 4,400 feet (1,341 meters) above sea level. From 1905 to about 1915, many people called homesteaders moved here. They came to claim free land from the government for farms and ranches. This was part of the Homestead Acts.
Many small towns grew in the valley. Some of these towns were Fremont, Lake, and Fleetwood. However, the high desert around Fort Rock has very hot, dry summers. Winters are extremely cold. The valley gets less than 9 inches (229 millimeters) of rain each year. Also, the growing season is very short. Frost can happen as late as June and as early as July.
Because of this tough weather, most homesteaders had to leave their land after a few years. Most towns had post offices by 1912. But most of these post offices closed by 1920. Today, only two small communities from that time still exist: Fort Rock and Silver Lake.
The idea for the Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum came from Frank and Vivian Stratton. They both grew up on homesteads in the Fort Rock area. In 1981, the Strattons and six other people who loved local history formed a group. This group was called the Fort Rock Valley Historical Society.
The society wanted to create a museum to save the history of the pioneers in the Fort Rock Valley. Because of their hard work, the museum opened in 1988. It started with two historic buildings. Since then, the museum has grown a lot. It got more land and more buildings from old homestead sites. Many of these buildings were in bad shape and were going to be torn down or burned. The museum saved them from being destroyed.
Museum Collection
The Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum has many volunteers. They work hard to save and show off a real village. This includes a working community garden. There is also a visitor center and gift shop. Here, you can take guided tours or explore the eleven rescued historic buildings on your own. Most of these buildings came from the Fort Rock Valley.
The museum has many items from the homesteaders. These include furniture, dishes, and tools. They show what life was like back then. The exhibits change with the seasons.
- The Webster Cabin was one of the first two buildings at the museum in 1988. Britt Webster built this cabin. It was about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Fort Rock. People lived in this cabin until 1986.
- The Sunset School is the only pioneer schoolhouse left from the twenty that were built in the Fort Rock Valley. It was moved to Fort Rock to be used as a church. When a new church was built, this building was given to the museum in 1998.
- The Fred Stratton Home was where Frank Stratton grew up. Frank was one of the museum's founders. This house was moved to the museum from a ranch near Fort Rock. It was used as a storage shed there. The house was originally about 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of Fort Rock.
- St. Roses Catholic Church was the only church built in the Fort Rock Valley during the homestead years. It was moved to the museum from its original spot. That was about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northeast of Fort Rock.
- The Belletable House is thought to be the biggest pioneer home built in the valley. It was first located near the St. Roses Church. The museum used this building as its visitor center for a while. Later, a new, modern visitor center was built.
- The Bodenheimer House was one of the few two-story houses in the valley. A German carpenter built it. However, he only lived in it for a short time.
- The Menkenmair Cabin is the only log cabin left in the valley. The first owners died soon after finishing the cabin. Their two orphan children were then raised by neighbors.
- Dr. Thom's office was one of the first two museum buildings, along with the Webster Cabin. Dr. James W. Thom was the only doctor in the valley during the homestead period. His office was in Silver Lake, Oregon, about 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of Fort Rock.
- The Land Office is a log building that looks like ones from the homestead time. But it did not originally come from the Fort Rock Valley. The Fort Rock Historical Society saved this building from a construction site near Bend, Oregon.
- The Fort Rock General Store used to be two blocks east of the museum. It survived a big fire in the 1960s. Then it was moved out of town. It was used as a home and later a furniture repair shop. In 2009, it was given to the museum. At that time, it was a shed for horses. After a lot of cleaning and fixing, it looks like the original store. It is now filled with goods and equipment from the homestead era. The metal sign on the building is the original one. A freight dock was added to match old photos. It even has an old-style hand-powered gas pump.
Accessing the Museum
The Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum is located at the main road in the small community of Fort Rock. The museum is open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This is from mid-May through the end of September. You can take self-guided walking tours from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you have a group, you need to arrange your tour ahead of time. The visitor center has exhibits, books, gifts, and public restrooms.
Images for kids
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Old Fort Rock Store
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Inside the general store
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St. Roses Church
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Homestead garden
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Inside Sunset School
