Stories

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The Museum's Long Mountain School House was built in 1925 by John W. Smith. It was originally located at Nick Young and Agate Road. The school was moved into Eagle Point in the mid 1940's. The Museum has a picture of the first class to be held in it after it was moved to Eagle Point. This was a third grade class of 28 students in 1946-47 with teacher, Elsie Turner. It was used for a classroom, school theater room and storage building. A group of history minded people got together and petitioned the school district to obtain the building and preserve it. The building was moved to its present site in 1977. After repairs, painting, creating displays etc., the Museum opened in 1978. Since that time two additions have been added on the back side of the school house. The east side was added around 1993 and the west side around 1997. Julie Thompson

We had a great celebration of 40 years of the Eagle Point Museum being open. Helen Wolgamott gave a brief history of the Museum's beginnings The Music by 'Mostly Country' was awesome. I personally liked the two whistling songs. We all sang 'Happy Birthday' to the Museum before cutting the cake. Thank you Janet Walter. Visitors ages 8 to 90+ came to commemorate this occasion. The door prizes added to the gaiety of the celebration. Thank you to all that helped. Julie Thompson

“Backwards and In High Heels” Ginger Rogers, star of screen and stage, had roots in Eagle Point during her lifetime. Born in 1911 in Missouri, she got her start at age 14 in a dance competition and toured as she got older. She performed in Medford at the Hunt’s Craterian Theater in the 1920’s. She never forgot the beautiful Rogue Valley because in 1940 Ginger bought a 1000 acre ranch on the Rogue River in Eagle Point off of Highway 62 just before Shady Cove. By that time she was starring in memorable films with Fred Astaire as well as other film greats of that era - Katherine Hepburn, David Niven, Marilyn Monroe, and Cary Grant to name a few. At the 4-R ranch - Rogers’ Rogue River Ranch - she raised some crops, had an orchard, and raised farm animals, notably milk cows. It was the milk from those cows that was bottled and sent to Camp White, the WWII training camp for the military on Highway 62 in White City. Her film career spanned decades beginning in 1929, including winning an Academy Award in 1940 for “Kitty Foyle”, a non-musical movie. When the Craterian Theater in Medford was being rebuilt, she helped secure money from the Fred Meyer trust, and they were able to reopen in 1997 with the new name of The Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater. The Butte Creek Mill Foundation was gifted her car that she drove on her ranch. It is a 1975 Dodge Coronet Station Wagon with only 7,347 original miles on it! If you are interested in acquiring this piece of Ginger Rogers’ history, please contact us! She was an iconic figure in our community as well, and I would recommend looking up some of her movies and be transported back in time. Check out “Stage Door”, “Bachelor Mother”, and “Monkey Business” as well as her amazing dancing with Fred Astaire in films such as “Top Hat”, “Follow the Fleet”, “Shall We Dance”, and “Swing Time”. You’ll then see why it was said “She did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels!” Truly another one of our local treasures Therese Hoehne

Hours of Operation:
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Summer:
May-Labor Day 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursdays 12pm - 4pm
Winter:
Labor Day-May 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Address:
202 N. Royal Ave. Eagle Point, OR 97524

Phone:
(541) 826-4166

Directions:
Eagle Point Museum

Call for Tours!

Guardian Meetings:
3rd Thursday of the month @ 4:30pm at the Museum