Welcome Lori Shanks who is working as the Educational Coordinator on an Americorp grant during the 2007-08 school year.

CCHS BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Jennifer Groth (president), Steve Greif (vice-president), Jerry Phillips (secretary), Barb Taylor (treasurer) and Trustees Reg Pullen, Sally Prouty, Teri Whitty, Jon Richards, Ann Collins, Carl Siminow, Bob Sasanoff, Bill Mast, Lou Leberti, Rolf Lichtenberg, Andy Combs, John Isenhart, Anne Guerin, and Tom Younker.

The CCHS Board of Trustees has regular meetings at the museum the third Wednesday of each month from 4-6 pm .

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SOCIETY’S HISTORY
MARKED BY CHANGE
By Ann Koppy, former museum director, 1986-2004

            On November 5, 1891, the Coos County Pioneer Association was founded by a group of pioneers who gathered in Coquille. Their mission was to preserve the early history of Coos County and to encourage annual reunions. To join, prospective members had to prove they had come to Coos County before 1868 and paid an annual membership fee of $1. Fifty men and women joined. In 1892, a three-day reunion was held in Empire City. Activities included a grand procession complete with a brass band, school children, residents and pioneers. Participants enjoyed a steam ship voyage to the government works at the North Spit where the north jetty was under construction and a riverboat jaunt up Coos River to visit the site where jetty rocks were quarried. The reunion pioneers also attended business meetings, grand orations, musical performances, splendid picnic lunches, and hearty dinners. In 1893, the organization changed its name to Coos County Pioneer and Historical Society. By then, one member from each area had been selected to gather information about the early history of Coos County.

            Each year for almost two decades, members met annually for three-day festivities. Membership grew due to a change in the by-laws that permitted anyone who had been in the county for the previous 25 years to join. In 1894 there were 139 members. In 1898, the society published “A Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties”. Although the book is now out of print, it is available in local libraries and is still a standard reference.

            In the early 1900’s, many society members were aging. The next generation seemed to lack interest and for several years very little happened. In the late 1920’s, four women compiled a list of long-time residents and school friends and planned a reunion that would spur the rebirth of the organization. Following that reunion, annual meetings were shortened to one day and were open to the public. Membership, though, was still limited to long-time Coos and Curry residents. By 1941, the Association wanted to broaden its scope to strengthen and stabilize the organization for the future. A constitution was written which included a name change - Coos-Curry Pioneer Association. Voting privileges were restricted to regular members who had resided in Coos and/or Curry for at least 40 years. Associate members could pay dues and support the association’s activities.

            Two years later, in 1943, the Association’s primary focus shifted to the construction of permanent headquarters and a pioneer historical museum. Membership was opened to all to maximize support for the building project. The organization name was changed once again, this time to Coos-Curry Pioneer and Historical Association. Fundraising began in earnest after World War II.

            In July 1947, the Coos-Curry Pioneer and Historical Association Museum opened. It was a narrow 60’ building; one-story, unheated and open one day a week. But at last, the group had a place to display the photographs, relics and papers they had collected over the years and stored in homes for safekeeping. The cost of construction was $1,695 leaving a balance of $30.28 in the treasury. Over the next 10 years, the community donated approximately 400 relics.

            In the early 1950’s, Society members wanted to publish another history of Coos and Curry counties. The earlier book, compiled by Orvil Dodge, was no longer available. The Society approached a local man named Emil Peterson to write the history. Peterson sought the help of Alfred Powers, Dean of Creative Writing at the University of Oregon. In 1952, “A Century of Coos And Curry” was published by the Society.

            The museum in Coquille failed to draw the anticipated number of visitors, perhaps due to its distance from the main traffic route through the county. Residents promised to donate relics if a larger, fireproof building were constructed. In the summer of 1952, a fire had destroyed the Coquille Community Building and the museum suffered some damage. That set the stage for relocating. The Board of Directors sent letters to the various cities asking for the donation of an available site along the highway. This request resulted in the association’s decision to site the new museum at the current location in Simpson Park in North Bend. Construction began in the summer of 1957. With the generosity of the community solidly behind it, the Association opened the Coos-Curry Museum in January 1958. In the late 1970’s, Curry County formed its own society and opened a museum in Gold Beach. The local museum’s name changed to the Coos County Historical Society Museum. In 1994 the Society adopted the theme of "Tidewater Highways".

            In 2004, the museum adopted its current name, Coos Historical and Maritime Museum, for two reasons. First, the Society wanted to reflect the fact that our collections were emphasizing objects related to our theme of "Tidewater Highways". Secondly, the world "county" was dropped from the title to clear up any confusion about whether or not the Society received any Coos County funding (which it does not). The Society and museum are still operating today as a successful non-profit organization.

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