About Us
The Beaver Tells the Story
Past Depot Museum Exhibit
Notable and Notorious Women of the North Okanogan
Depot Museum Exhibit 2021
From the Cradle to the Grave
Healthcare History in the North Okanogan - our 2022 display
This year, we are utilizing some fabulous collections donated by Lloyd Curtis, Gary Bergh and others, that showcase our North Valley healthcare history. Since we have items reflecting midwifery, early physicians, pharmacies and undertaking, we decided to call this year's display "From the Cradle to the Grave" and we hope everyone enjoys it.
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.
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.
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, $30 for families. We encourage you to join us as we have fun preserving and promoting our local history.