Pioneer Rooms
Photographs, artifacts and documents of settler families abound in the Pioneer rooms. A myriad of businesses thrived in the area leaving lasting impressions on local residents and visitors alike.
Photographs, artifacts and documents of settler families abound in the Pioneer rooms. A myriad of businesses thrived in the area leaving lasting impressions on local residents and visitors alike.
Bandon has been a vacation destination almost from its inception. Displays include various holiday lodgings through the years. Another popular destination was the Wecoma baths – an indoor, salt water swimming pool located on Coquille Point. Artifacts from local sporting events including baseball, boxing and…
Bandon has experienced a couple of devastating fires. In 1914 a fire started in the kitchen of a downtown restaurant and destroyed three blocks of downtown buildings. In 1936 an even more comprehensive fire destroyed 80 percent of the buildings in both the residential neighborhoods…
There are hundreds of examples of everyday articles from daily life in early Bandon on display. Here are a few of the items you might find in your pantry.
Military / Maritime
The Coquille River Lighthouse began service in 1896 and was decommissioned in 1939. Displays include a model of the lighthouse, various photographs of the lighthouse keeper’s home
The skeleton of a dolphin, and taxidermy items including a puffin, hawk and bald eagle are among the wildlife displayed. Birdwatching has been a popular hobby for residents and visitors along the river and coastline.
The Millard School was a military preparatory school operated by Colonel Homer Millard and his wife Esther to prepare students for admission to the nation’s military academies. It operated on Langlois mountain from 1953 to 1962, then moved to Bradley Lake. One of the amazing…
Our maritime exhibits offer a comprehensive display of photos, ship models and artifacts revealing the history of Bandon as a thriving seaport in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. By the 1910’s, Bandon was one of the busiest ports on the Oregon Coast.
Native American & Industries
For centuries the Na So Mah people lived along the Coquille River and began interacting with European traders in the early 19th century. Artifacts in the museum collection include various baskets, arrowheads, tools and jewelry.
While the nearby town of Langlois gained fame for it’s Cheese Factory, Bandon has also had a series of creamery operations, with milk being transported along the Coquille River from nearby farms. The Coquille Valley Diary Co-Op operated until the early 2000’s. It was replaced…
The museum collection includes photographs and artifacts of the Cranberry Court going back to the early festivals in the late 1940’s. Each September the museum hosts a special exhibit of dresses worn by members of the court from the 1950’s to the present day.
Bandon often refers to itself as the “Cranberry Capital of Oregon” and cites the establishment of cranberry bogs as long ago as the 1890’s. Today Ocean Spray has a processing plant here and many other growers are independent.
From 1884 to 1925 the Coquille River produced an annual harvest of between 100-120 thousand salmon annually. For many years the cannery was a major employer.
Bandon’s first golf course was built in 1927 and was initially known as Westmont because it was the western-most golf course in the United States. Currently Bandon Crossings Golf Course and Bandon Dunes’ courses draw golfers from all over the world. Bandon Dunes’ first course…
