Siuslaw Pioneer Museum

Definitely worth a stop. As a local I hadn’t been in since I was a kid. Brought my kids by the newer old town location (used to be south of town), and really enjoyed ourselves! Great local history including demonstrative bridge and logging history. Look forward to coming back with guests!

This community museum is a gem. I give 5 stars because volunteers have really made an effort here. We stumbled on it and I wasn’t sure I was in the mood but it turned out to be a trip highlight. Lots to look at and ponder. A great volunteer played old records and guided our tour. What a great place to explore on a foggy day.

The Siuslaw Pioneer Museum is a homey place with a lot of great information about the history of the Florence area. To me, the history of a place is all about the people, and the museum tells about the early settlers of the area along with artifacts that they either brought to the area, or made for themselves. It really helped to give one an understanding of how they lived, worked, and recreated. And some of the docents are living history, friendly and willing to share what they know of the past, and about their experiences in the area.
My son (15 yo) usually flies through these types of places, but he was barely ahead of me. He really liked the poem that was written for the fishing boat displayed outside the museum.

This wonderful place is a real treasure trove of history, especially Oregon history and even more specifically of historical value for the families living in the Florence area. If you love the Oregon Coast, you owe it to yourself and your kids to pay the $ 3 admission and walk through this interesting place. There’s a lot to learn here!
We had our 11 year old son with us when we visited recently, and even he was impressed by the music room, the schoolhouse exhibits, the room with all the military artifacts and collection of old camera’s and projectors, and the rib bone from the famous exploding whale!
Lots of wonderful items to oooh and aahh at, gander over, discuss, and make you stop and think about how things have, really, vastly, changed.
Check out the very funny «Rules for Teachers» in the schoolhouse area! It’s a hoot!
We plan to go again next time we’re in Florence, as there’s so much to see here we feel it’s one of those places which you need to go again and again so that you see each time what you missed previously. (Like rereading a good book!)
OH — and ask the kind volunteers if they could play you some music on the old phonographs they have. We didn’t even ask, but the volunteer played a great old record for us. So much fun!