Sep122026
Victorian Crafts: scissor case, leather thimble and scissor tip
Materials are provided. Walk-ins are welcome, but an RSVP helps us bring enough to go around.
Free tours Friday and Saturday
Two of the oldest houses in Oregon City, kept open by volunteers
Dr. John McLoughlin built his home beside Willamette Falls in 1846. In 1909 it was going to be demolished, and this association moved it to Center Street rather than let that happen. It has been open to the public ever since, and so has the Holmes House out at the Rose Farm.
Free
Tours of the McLoughlin House, every hour on the hour
$5 and under
Admission at the Rose Farm. Children five and under are free
1909
The year this association was founded, to save one house
Next few months
What is on
Craft sessions run on the second Saturday of most months in the Barclay House parlor. Lantern tours are out at the Holmes House. Everything here is free unless the listing says otherwise.
Plan a visit
Two sites, ten minutes apart
One sits downtown next to the Barclay House and is run with the National Park Service. The other is a farmhouse on the south edge of town with a rose garden the volunteers plant themselves.
With the National Park Service
The McLoughlin House
713 Center St, Oregon City
- OpenFriday and Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM
- AdmissionFree
- ToursFree, on the hour, departing from the Barclay House next door. About an hour long, no reservation needed.
- ParkingFree, in front of the museum, visitors only
- ShopOur gift shop is inside the Barclay House at 719 Center St
To see everything, arrive at least 45 minutes before closing.
Owned and maintained by the association
The Rose Farm and the Holmes House
536 Holmes Ln, at the corner of Rilance Ln, Oregon City
- OpenSaturdays, 12 PM to 4 PM, opening date to confirm through Labor Day
- AdmissionAdults $5 · Seniors $4 · Youth 6 to 17 $3 · Five and under free
- ParkingStreet parking on Rilance Ln
- GardenA self guided rose tour, with most varieties identified by the volunteers and the Portland Rose Society
Group tours can be arranged. Email or call and we will find a Saturday.
719 Center St
Start at the Barclay House
Tours of the McLoughlin House leave from the porch next door, so the yellow house is where you want to park yourself first. The gift shop is inside: embroidered dishtowels and bookmarks, Victorian toys, historic photographs, books. The craft series meets in its parlor.
A note about the McLoughlin House. The National Park Service has said the house will close to the public once a major rehabilitation is approved, and that the closure will be announced when it happens. Nothing is closed today. When it is, the Rose Farm stays open and the craft series carries on in the Barclay House parlor.
Second Saturday, most months
The Victorian Craft Series
Each month a different period craft, in the parlor of the Barclay House. Materials are provided, though you are welcome to bring your own fabric. There is an advanced session later in the series.
Sessions are free, and donations are appreciated and never expected. Walk-ins are welcome. An RSVP means we bring enough materials for everyone who turns up.
| Date | Craft |
|---|---|
| Sep 12 | Scissor case, leather thimble and scissor tip |
| Oct 10 | Three part pinch bags |
| Nov 14 | Show and tell |
| Dec 12 | Heritage Holidays |
Earlier in the year we covered sewing stitches, embroidery, twill tape measures and pincushions, needlebooks, penny rugs, and a plunder sale. The full year is on the events page.
Membership
Join the association
Members get a 10% discount in the gift shop and first word on volunteer days. Dues go straight into keeping both houses open, which in practice means the roses got pruned and the porch got painted.
Tier name
$00
Per year
- 10% off in the gift shop
- Volunteer days at both houses
- Other benefits to confirm
Tier name
$00
Per year
- 10% off in the gift shop
- Volunteer days at both houses
- Other benefits to confirm
Tier name
$00
Per year
- 10% off in the gift shop
- Volunteer days at both houses
- Other benefits to confirm
An Elevator Street note. This paragraph is ours, everything above it is theirs. Membership prices appear nowhere on the association's website, and we could not find them anywhere else either, so the three tiers above are marked as placeholders. Send us the real names and prices and this section becomes a working sign-up in an afternoon.
Or give without joining
Contributions to the general fund cover maintenance, restoration and the education programs. Every gift, large or small, makes a meaningful impact.
The donate button on this preview points back at the association's own live donation form. This page takes no payments.
Who we are
One of the oldest nonprofits in Oregon
Our mission is to assist in the promotion of Dr. John McLoughlin and his associates through education, interpretation, preservation, respect, and appreciation of our heritage.
In 1909 the association formed to keep McLoughlin's house from being demolished, and moved it to Center Street instead. It opened as a museum the following year. Since 2003 it has been a unit of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, and we have worked alongside the National Park Service throughout.
We also own and maintain the Rose Farm property, where the first Oregon Territorial Legislature met in July 1849, and where the volunteers still keep the beds.
Dr. John McLoughlin
1784 to 1857
Chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver, and the man who let exhausted Oregon Trail families take supplies from the company warehouse on credit. It cost him his job. The 1957 state legislature named him the Father of Oregon.
The board
- Richard MatthewsPresident
- Bonnie Youngblood-WolfFirst Vice President
- Joan WilliamsSecond Vice President
- Cheryl RiceSecretary
- Jan SalisburyTreasurer
- Marsha ArdRose Farm Representative
- Tara SeaverFormer President
Volunteer
The tours only happen because someone shows up
Nobody here is paid to walk visitors through the parlor. Give us a Saturday and we will teach you the house. Gardeners are always short, and so are people willing to sit in the gift shop and talk to strangers about 1846.
No application, no interview. Send an email and someone will write back.
Come out on a Saturday
Both houses are open Saturdays in season. The McLoughlin House is also open Fridays. Tours are free and start on the hour.