JACKSONVILLE
HISTORY
CENTER
A MUSEUM
Jacksonville History Center
A MUSEUM
Coming Summer 2026
Every museum needs a starting point.
Historic Jacksonville, Inc., in partnership with the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Boosters Club, is transforming the town’s 1881 Old City Hall into the Jacksonville History Center — a museum opening Summer 2026.
Jacksonville is unique: over 100 buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors often feel that there is “something about this place” as they walk around the town. The Jacksonville History Center will help explain why, connecting visitors to the people, cultures, and events that shaped the town.
Inside the museum, interactive exhibits introduce visitors to the key forces that shaped Jacksonville’s past. Five themes frame the experience:
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Land & Agriculture
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The Gold Rush
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Merchants & Makers
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Town Life
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Government.
Artifacts, multimedia storytelling, AI interpretation, and QR-linked content will bring these stories to life.
The Center will also serve as the gateway to a broader “Citywide Museum,” encouraging visitors to explore Jacksonville itself through guided tours, self-guided walks, digital experiences, and community events.
The Jacksonville History Center will be the place where visitors begin discovering the deeper story behind our remarkable town.
Telling the Stories of Jacksonville's History
Inside the Jacksonville History Center, visitors encounter the people and events that shaped the town’s history.
The museum explores the lives of Indigenous communities, miners and settlers drawn by gold, the rise of Oregon’s first Chinatown, the arrival of the railroad, the hardships of the Great Depression, and Jacksonville’s remarkable preservation as a historic town.
Exhibits combine historic artifacts with modern storytelling tools to create an engaging experience for all ages. Touchable objects, video and audio media, AI narration, and QR-linked content invite visitors to explore the stories in greater depth.
But the story does not end inside the museum.
The Jacksonville History Center connects visitors to the town itself as a living historic landscape. Through the Center’s website and digital resources, guests can continue their journey with guided tours, GPS self-guided walks, virtual experiences, historical articles, and community events.
Whether visiting for the first time or returning again, the Center helps reveal the deeper story of Jacksonville and the people who shaped it.
When
MORE COMING SOON!
When
MORE COMING SOON!
Right now all this is being created! Would you like to get an update when a new tool, workshop, or event is added? Please provide me with your email address and I'd be happy to let you know. I promise not to spam you or share your email address with anyone else.
Right now all this is being created! Would you like to get an update when a new tool, workshop, or event is added? Please provide me with your email address and I'd be happy to let you know. I promise not to spam you or share your email address with anyone else.
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