Bandon Historical Society Museum

City of Bandon, Oregon

The Bandon Historical Society Museum is located at 270 Fillmore Avenue (on the corner of Fillmore Avenue and Highway 101).

Incorporated in 1976, Bandon's Museum is located in the Old City Hall building. The second building constructed after the disastrous 1936 fire, it was to be the temporary quarters for the City of Bandon, but remained in use until the new City Hall was built in 1970 just south of the Museum, along Highway 101. The City of Bandon's Urban Renewal Agency purchased the building with Urban Renewal funds and donated it to the Historical Society.

Winter Hours: Monday through Saturday 10 a.m-4 p.m. Summer Hours: Open daily, 10-4. Admission: $3 for adults; children under 12 and members of the Bandon Historical Society are free. We are closed during January.

More than 30 dedicated volunteers tend the visitors' desk during the year, welcoming visitors and sharing their knowledge of Bandon. The Museum could not run without them.

Bandon's Museum has one paid staff pereson, Gayle Nix, the Executive Director. Members of the Board of Directors, their spouses and other dedicated volunteers give countless hours to share and preserve Bandon's rich history for present and future generations.

Funding for the Museum is by daily admissions, annual memberships, memorials, fundraisers, donations, grants and sales from our gift shop. Our memberships are Individual $15, Family $25, Business $35 and Life $250.

Contributions are tax deductible. The museum's visitor count has risen every year with well over 4,500 people signing in from all parts of the world. Bandon's Museum is handicap accessible. The Museum has over 4,000 square feet of display and artifact exhibit area, and well over 1,000 historic Bandon photos displayed with captions. We also encourage visitors to help us with names of old-timers that we may not be able to identify. Our entire building is over 5,400 square feet, which also includes a research room, office, work and storage areas and restrooms.

Our collections include Native American artifacts, and an extensive collection of early Bandon photos. Other displays include coal and gold mining, the timber industry, fishing, cranberries, dairy farming and cheese making. Other exhibits include a natural history section, military memorabilia and photographs, and a large maritime room highlighting shipwrecks, tugs, river boats, sailing vessels and shipbuilding of the area. In our Pioneer rooms we cover Bandon's two fires, 1914 and 1936, and the people who stayed to re-build Bandon. In the museum, you can learn about early Bandon businesses and pioneer families, view early day schools, and enjoy the period clothing.

Our gift shop features historic books of the area, cards, photos, videos, drawings, paintings, glassware, and many other items. Tours are available for large or small groups. We are within walking distance of Bandon's historic Old Town district, gift shops, the beautiful Port of Bandon, the new Face Rock Creamery, top-rated motels and some of the finest restaurants on the Oregon Coast.

Known as the Bandon Historical Society Museum, we operate as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Although small in population, Bandon has a rich and interesting history, punctuated by the two disastrous fires which changed the face of both the residential and commercial areas, resulting in the jewel of the South Coast that we are  today.

Learn more about the Museum by calling (541) 347-2164 or visiting us online at www.bandonhistoricalmuseum.org.