Take a stroll through Tualatin history at the Heritage Center
Discover the exhibits on display Inside the Heritage Center
The Tualatin mastodon tusk and molar, about 14,000 years old, uncovered in Tualatin in 1962, by Dr. John George. He donated it to the Tualatin Historical Society. The display includes photos of the excavation process.
On the left, an erratic rock moved to the Tualatin area by the ancient Missoula Floods. On the right is a touchable replica of the mastodon molar.
Items from the Robbins-Ball pioneer family. The pewter salt and pepper shakers (donated by June Husky Halliday) and the coverlid (donated by Tim Mayfield) were brought out on the Oregon Trail in the 1850’s. A hand sickle was donated by Alton Robbins.
Blue Willow child’s china set, probably from the 1950’s. Unknown donor.
Photo display relating to the Atfalati Kalapuyan tribe: the Tualatin River pedestrian bridge named after Kia-Kuts, the last chief; an ancient stone tool called an atlatl weight found in Tualatin and given back to the Grand Ronde Confederation; and a photo of Louis Kenoyer, the last known member of the Atfalati band.
Wood and iron school desk, probably 1930’s or 40’s. Similar to the ones used in Tualatin schools until the 1950’s. Donated by Diane Silvey Swientek.
1865 ledger, hand stitched. A record kept (and signed) by John Sweek, early Tualatin pioneer, listing his sales to the Idaho miners. Donated by Teresa Stone, Sweek’s great-great granddaughter.
Banner recently donated by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, listing the 5 member tribes. The Indigenous people of the Tualatin area were the Atfalati, a local band of the Kalapuya tribe.
Displayed here are artifacts and a lectern from the 1926 Tualatin United Methodist Church building which stood on Boones Ferry Road for 80 years. The building was moved in 2006 to its present location and is now the Tualatin Heritage Center, co-operated by the city and the Tualatin Historical Society.
Dollhouse furniture, probably from the 1940’s or 50’s. Played with by the Nyberg and Avery children in Tualatin. Donated by Colleen Nyberg.
Explore exhibits Outside the Heritage Center and around Tualatin
Glacial Erratic
Description: Glacial Erratic rock believed to have been carried from Idaho or British Columbia to this point in an iceberg, which floated down the Columbia River in the catastrophic Missoula flood, which rose to the 400 foot level in the Willamette valley some 15,000 to 35,000 years ago.
Description of local Tribal Homelands
Glacial Granite Erratic Boulder
Description: This 10 ton, granite boulder is an ice age erratic. It was transported, encased in an iceberg, during one of the cataclysmic floods that inundated this region over 15,000 years ago. It originated near Montana and was deposited at an elevation of 228 feet near Gaston, Oregon, about 25 miles west of Tualatin.
A special thanks to Donna Ott and her son, Douglas Ott, Brian Clopton Excavating Inc., and Axis Crane.
Historical Wagon - which you can check out @ Lee Farms 21975 SW 65th Ave Tualatin OR 97062
Can you find all these plants on display in the Heritage Centers Garden??
Beach Daisy · Erigeron glaucus
Description: a low growing (12"), showy perennial with purple (ray) and yellow (disc) flowers throughout the summer and even into autumn. It will spread, but not aggressively, to form a mound. Good butterfly plant. Sun, moderate water during summer, well-drained soil.
Common Snowberry · Symphoricarpos albus
Description: A finely branched, deciduous shrub (to 6 ft.), common in westside woods from Alaska to California. Snowberry has small, white to pink bell-shaped flowers (May to August) and showy white berries. The berries persist well into winter and provide food for birds. Part sun (sun), low-regular water, well-drained soil.
Douglas meadowfoam · Limnanthes douglasii
Description: self-seeding winter annual (6-10") with delicate, bright green foliage and large yellow flowers with white tips in spring. Beautiful en masse! Lovely edging plant in sunny border. Meadowfoam is a good nectar-source for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies. Sun, regular water (loves wet sites), well-drained soil.
Black Twinberry · Lonicera involucrata
Description: a deciduous shrub (to 10 ft.). Pale yellow flowers come in pairs as do the shiny black fruit; both are subtended by bracts (involucre) that eventually turn red. Attractive waterside plant. Good source of food for wildlife. Part sun, regular water best.
Lewis described Snowberry in his journal entry of August 13, 1805, from a tributary of the Lemhi River in Idaho: "the road. . .brought us to a large creek. . . I saw near the creek some bushes of the white maple [mountain maple]. . . and a species of honeysuckle much in its growth and leaf-like the small honeysuckle of the Missouri [western snowberry] only rather larger and bears a globular berry as large as a garden pea and as white as wax. This berry is formed of a thin smooth pellicle which envelopes a soft white mucilaginous substance in which there are several small brown seeds irregularly scattered or intermixed without any sell or perceptible membranous covering." Again, while traveling along the Lolo Trail on September 20, 1805, "saw the huckleberry, honeysuckle, and alder . . . also a kind of honeysuckle which bears a white bury and rises about 4 feet high not common but to the western side of the rocky mountains."
Candy Flower, miners lettuce · Montia sibirica (syn. Claytonia sibirica)
Description: a succulent annual (6-12") with white to pink flowers from late winter to spring and even summer if it has adequate moisture. Shade/part shade, regular water.
Checkermallow · Sidalcea sp.
Description: a showy perennial with brilliant pink flowers (late spring, early summer) clustered at the top of stems (8-60"). Checkermallow resembles a small hollyhock. Plant it with blue-eyed grass, lupine, and irises for a colorful border. Butterfly favorite. Sidalcea is used as a host plant by the Grey Hairstreak, among others (left, in Larry Everson's Milwaukie garden, adorned with matching larva!). Sun/part sun, regular water (will tolerate less)
Common Camas · Camassia quamash
Description: Bulbous perennial (8-24"), smaller than Great Camas (Camassia leichtlinii), with grass-like leaves and brilliant pale blue to deep purple flowers in spring. Common Camas is widespread on both sides of the Cascades, most commonly found in areas that are wet in winter. A large drift of camas is an incredibly beautiful sight! The bulb was an important food source for Native Americans, and diary entries from Lewis and Clark remark on the beauty, abundance and significance of this North American native. Sun, winter wet (allow the bulbs to dry out after flowering), heavy soil ok.
Deer Fern · Blechnum spicant
Description: 1-3 foot fern widespread along the coast and moist, mid-elevation areas. Deer fern has 2 types of fronds: a tuft of evergreen vegetative fronds at the base and lovely airy reproductive fronds (right and below) that die back in winter. Source of food for deer & elk. Part shade/shade, regular water.