Where was Oswego's first public library?
Stay tuned to the end of the newsletter to find out more!
Hint: This was before the public library's current location!
Did you know that, if you become a Lifetime Member, you get a brick with your name on it? We recently had three new bricks engraved on our front courtyard. For one family, that meant they had generations represented at the Heritage House. They can come back for as long as we're here and find their family's names preserved in brick, beside other people who cared about local history.
A Lifetime Membership also includes all other member benefits, but if that doesn't sound like the right fit for you, remember we have different tiers of membership options, including a free Community Level membership available to students, educators, and individuals receiving food assistance.
A membership is a great gift for summer birthdays! Especially with our upcoming walking tours, a membership to the Heritage House comes with discounted tickets, priority access, and special events. Doesn't that sound fun?!
Kathryn Sinor
Executive Director
SPEAKING OF MEMBERSHIPS...
MEMBER SURVEY EXTENDED TO JUNE 12TH
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It's been a while since we've heard from you!
In an effort to continually improve our membership program, we have developed a few questions to ask you as current or lapsed members. Please answer honestly and to the best of your ability. The survey should take ~10 minutes.
To show our appreciation to the time you have given to provide feedback, you will have the chance to win some Oswego Heritage Council swag and a $20 gift card to a local restaurant.
The survey will close on Friday, June 5th Friday, June 12th.
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FROM THE DURHAM COLLECTION...
Featured from the Durham Family Collection is an 1805 family Bible. In many families, it was one of the most important possessions in the household. Many Bibles included blank pages specifically for recording family events. Before widespread civil registration, these records could be the only official documentation of a family’s history.
Large, finely bound family Bibles like this one suggest it was intended to be a treasured volume to be passed down through generations. In early 19th century America, the Bible was commonly one of the few books a household owned. Families often used the Bible for daily devotions, reading scripture, teaching children to read, and religious and moral instruction.
Today, the Durham Family Bible is preserved within an archival protective box, ensuring that future generations, including of the Durhams, can study and appreciate some of the most cherished pieces of family and community history. In fact, descendants of the family recently came into the Heritage House to see this treasure for themselves!
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It is very important for museums and archives to have a collections policy, so people can understand how and why we collect things. Through this policy, the Oswego Heritage Council ensures that:
- its collections are accounted for by scheduled inventory and documented in the collections management database
- its collections are protected, secure, cared for, and preserved
- acquisition, deaccessioning, and loans of works in the collections are conducted in a manner that conforms to the Council’s mission, complies with applicable law, and reflects the highest ethical standards
- disposal of works from the collections through sale, exchange, or other means is solely for the advancement of the Council’s mission, and proceeds from the sale of such works are used only to purchase other historical items or to conserve or care for the existing collections
- collections-related activities promote the public good rather than individual financial gain
We are so thrilled to share our newly approved collections policy! If you have questions about how we keep things, this will have answers. All of this is with the direct goal of making our archives easier to use and more accessible to the public!
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MEMBER OPPORTUNITY
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Fourth of July parade in Oswego, 1921
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We're looking for people to march with the Heritage House during the Fourth of July parade! With the 250th anniversary of the United States, it's a great time to show some pride in local history too. We'll be parading with a vintage car and antique wooden boat, but we want to highlight different eras of Lake Oswego history, and we need your help to do it! Join us, dress up in historical clothing, and walk (or ride!) with us.
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OPENING LATER THIS MONTH IS AN EXHIBIT ON QUILTS!
Using quilts from the Oswego Quilters and other community groups, explore history through these amazing textiles. More information will be coming soon, so keep an eye out on your inbox to learn more!
JOIN US FOR TOURS OF OLD TOWN AND FIRST ADDITION THROUGH THE SUMMER!
Join us for a walking tour through historic Old Town, Lake Oswego! A docent will lead you through the neighborhood, sharing stories of the burgeoning Oswego. From community life to industry to the residents who made these houses their home, you'll uncover the history right before your eyes. Houses, streets, and everything in between!
These walks cover between 1.00 mile and 1.41 miles of even terrain and last about an hour.
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This survey has been created by one of our interns, Walter McNaughton, who is looking to understand what people in the community, as well as visitors of the Heritage House, associate with the City of Lake Oswego. All questions are optional, and no identifying information will be collected. This information will be used to decide features of an art piece which represents Oswego and its history.
Walter put together our walking tour scripts, so let's help him out and answer!
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Where was Oswego's first public library?
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CITY HALL!
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While there was a Free Library Reading Room started by local Oswego women in 1895 located on the southwest corner of A Avenue and State Street (in one of the first brick structures in Oswego), the Oswego Library Association officially formed in 1924. The association accepted over 600 volumes from Dora Espy Wilson (a local suffragist married to an early Oswego mayor) but did not have a location.
The city of Oswego formally established a free public library, known as the Oswego Public Library, in 1938. Lucia Bliss was the first City Librarian, and the library was held at City Hall. The building on 4th Street and D Avenue would be constructed in 1962.
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