Lake Oswego -- Oswego Heritage House and Museum

We went and visited the outside of the house about ten months ago. I delayed writing about it because I wanted to get inside. 

While admission is free, the hours do not correspond well with the average working schedule (an issue for many interesting attractions). 

As we finished other Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory Heritage Trail locations, that concern became more urgent. 

I couldn't quite give up, and then I happened to check the events calendar. They were have "A Haunting History", where one could meet various ghosts from the area, and have access to the house.

While events are not frequent, there are some interesting ones, like a presentation on Oswego suffragettes scheduled for November 6th. 

That presentation corresponds with current (timely) displays.

The house was built in 1928 and became the home of the Oswego Heritage Council in 1999.

The archives preserve 22,000 items, including journals, press clippings, and artifacts.

For the haunted evening, we met with a drowned artist whose painting was hanging in the room, a quartet of grave robbers, and a woman who had spoken on behalf of women's suffrage when they were attempting to get it passed.

There was a wide range in how convincing the "ghosts" were, but it was a reminder that these are local people presenting local history.

One of the most impressive things was that after, when the audience was asking questions, how quickly the non-ghost council members were able to fill in details. Local historical societies rise and fall on the devotion of their members.

There was a bit of a wait, but there were refreshments and activities provided, including a scavenger hunt.

I was glad that we finally got to see, and in a pretty interesting manner.

COVID: It is very much inside, and I did not see a lot of masks besides my own. I did not see any special attempts at ventilation, so use caution, especially when it's crowded.

Accessibility: The front of the house does have steps, but entrance is from the West and accessible. Some of the passageways might be a bit narrow, but the bathroom was technically accessible. Not the best, but not the worst.

There is parking on site, but also overflow parking at the church across the street, as indicated by signs.

https://www.oswegoheritage.org/Heritage-House