Tillamook County Pioneer Museum: Bringing Tillamook to the world, from shipwrecks to service members, from research to a nature reserve * Oregon ArtsWatch

"Founded in 1935 by members of the Tillamook County Pioneer Association, the museum opened in the old county courthouse with about 400 donated objects - enough for a single display in a single room. Its mission then: to share the way of the settler's life in 19 th-century Tillamook. Its mission today: still to preserve the story of the Tillamook way of life, but now with a collection of roughly 55,000 objects and 20,000 photographs and documents occupying three floors of the 125-year-old building and spanning the late 17 th through the 21 st centuries."

"Carmen Ripollés, an associate professor in art history at Portland State University, discovered the museum while researching the Santo Cristo De Burgos, shipwrecked off the Oregon Coast near Manzanita in 1693. For decades, beachcombers and treasure hunters have found pieces of the ship's cargo on north Oregon beaches. Finds of beeswax earned the ship its nickname, the Beeswax Wreck. Three years ago, state experts confirmed that timbers found by Tillamook commercial fisherman Craig Andes were from the ship."

The Tillamook County Pioneer Museum was founded in 1935 and opened in the old county courthouse with about 400 donated objects. The museum's mission is to preserve the story of the Tillamook way of life, now represented by roughly 55,000 objects and 20,000 photographs and documents across three floors of a 125-year-old building. Collections span the late 17th through the 21st centuries and draw visitors ranging from local backyard historians to movie buffs and academic researchers. Staff expertise and programming have grown over 90 years, with a focus on sharing Tillamook history beyond the local community. The museum holds significant artifacts connected to the 1693 Santo Cristo De Burgos "Beeswax Wreck."

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