The recently announced lease agreement between the Bureau of Land Management and Baker County, enabling the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center to be temporarily housed in the Baker Heritage Museum while the Interpretive Center undergoes extensive retrofitting to the building and its HVAC systems is good news. Good news for Baker County and Baker City, good news for the BLM and the museum, and good news for tourists visiting the area.

The Baker County Museum Commission is excited to partner with the Interpretive Center staff to offer the visiting public an experience to be remembered. The BLM is constructing new exhibits to fit into the museum’s Leo Adler Room and in part of the ballroom upstairs. Although the Center’s exhibits will necessarily be scaled down from what we have known for the past nearly 30 years, this partnership will ensure that visitors receive a quality experience.

As the nation recovers economically from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry is rebounding strongly. Having Interpretive Center staff and exhibits in the museum will undoubtedly assist in Baker County’s economic recovery as visitors are drawn into Baker City. An added attraction is that the BLM will offer an array of excellent interpretive programs and performances in Geiser-Pollman Park on weekends and holidays, weather permitting. The museum’s education programs will be enhanced by the presence of BLM staff, and visitors to Baker County’s summer events will have a value-added experience.

The Baker County Museum Commission appreciates the support of the Baker County Commissioners, the BLM, Base Camp Baker, the Oregon Trail Preservation Trust, and the Baker County Economic Development Department in making this extraordinary partnership possible.

Cammy Warner, Chair

Diana Brown, Vice-chair

Rebecca Kolbet, Secretary/Treasurer

Chelsea Blatchford, Museum Commissioner

Dave Hunsaker, Museum Commissioner

Teresa McQuisten, Museum Commissioner

Bill Mitchell, Museum Commissioner