Douglas County Museum

The Douglas County Museum has been collecting, preserving and exhibiting natural and cultural history items for nearly forty years.

Home to Oregon's largest natural history collection on display, the Museum's more than 7,500 items are used to help tell the ancient and contemporary stories of the Umpqua River Valley. In addition, DCM houses one of the Northwest's most comprehensive plant collections in its research Herbarium with nearly 3,000 catalogued specimens.

The historical artifact collection is one of the most extensive in the state with over 8,640 items that illustrate area history. The Museum holds Oregon's second largest historic photograph collection with more than 24,000 images going back as early as the mid 19th century.

The museum also provides public access to research materials for those who are interested in the people, places and events of Douglas County. Through the Lavola Bakken Research Library, public access is granted for a wide array of printed materials including books, manuscripts, photos, newspapers, and much more.

History

The Douglas County Museum was designed by the San Francisco architectural firm of Backen, Arrigoni & Ross and built in 1969. The design received a National Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects. Major additions were completed in 1979 and 1989 to expand both exhibition space and onsite storage facilities. In 2006 the Umpqua River Lighthouse and Museum joined forces with DCM to improve the visitor experience at both sites.

The purpose of the Museum is to "collect, preserve, interpret and exhibit materials related to the history and natural history of Douglas County". Visitors can expect to experience professional, creative depictions of historical figures and events representing the Umpqua Valley. The rich history our area provides gives the Museum opportunities to exhibit more than ten thousand years of natural and cultural history through detailed dioramas and topical exhibits. The natural history dioramas house native wildlife in richly depicted habitats from the crest of the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean.

The museum facility contains thousands of square feet of exhibit galleries, storage areas, library, photo laboratory, auditorium, gift shop and research facilities.

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