Displays

What we do:

The Okanogan Borderlands Historical Society operates the Old Oroville Depot Museum, housed in the original 1907 Great Northern train depot.  This wonderful old building is home to Oroville’s Visitor Information Center as well as semi-permanent and annual displays relating to local history.  Our offering for 2018 was all about schools in the North Okanogan. Plans for the 2019 annual display are underway.  The display will feature transportation in all its many forms in our area's history.

We have refurbished the exterior of a BN caboose to resemble a Great Northern caboose, and hope to eventually restore the interior as well.

The Depot has been repainted, an extra layer of glass was added over the windows, and the interior of the building has been re-insulated.  In the past several years we have expanded our outdoor exhibit, added storage facilities, extended our fencing for better security, had an electrical upgrade, installed a heat pump, and are currently creating a covered display area outside.

We have installed a kiosk at the airport, highlighting important Oroville residents involved with flight, such as Cloyd and Audrey Artman (gliders) and Dorothy Scott, a WASP, after whom the airport is named.  The kiosk has information about the area for pilots and houses the stamp for the Fly Washington Passport Program.

Thanks to a grant from People for Bikes, we have a bicycle work station on our veranda, with an air compressor and minimal tools for servicing bikes.  The Oroville Initiative was most helpful in providing new tools with more secure yet accessible storage after our tools were stolen.

Our model train display, designed and constructed by Jerry Ecklor and Gayle Noel, is one of our major attractions.  Depicting a loop through the history of the Oroville area, the train travels from the Depot along part of what is now the Similkameen Trail, past the golf course, a mine, and Enloe Dam, around Zosel’s Mill, and past a display of a burning fruit warehouse.  For a mere 25¢, you can follow the train as it makes its way around an artful display.

We have partnered with students and teachers at Oroville High School to bring their metal and wooden art works to the public.  You can see our horse at the trough in the parking area, a beaver in front of the museum, horses in the main display room, and historic silhouettes on the fence as you enter town from the south.

We are a small but mighty group, always looking for enthusiastic new members to help us portray the area’s history in new and interesting ways.  We partner with the local schools on artwork, preservation/restoration projects, and display components.  Membership is $25 per year, $15 for seniors ($20 for senior couples), $30 for families.  We encourage you to join us as we have fun preserving and promoting our local history. 

Board meetings:  2nd Tuesday of each month 4:00 PM at the Depot.