Spotlight on Affiliates

Clatsop County Historical Society

Richard H. Engeman, editor
with assistance from Kristin Teigen and McAndrew Burns

Clatsop County Historical Society 1618 Exchange Street Astoria, Oregon 97103 Phone: (503) 325-2203 E-mail: CaptainFlavel@aol.com Web site: http://www.clatsophistoricalsociety.org OHS Affiliate since 1945
One of Oregon's scenic treasures, Clatsop County has a deep and varied history that arises from its location where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. The Clatsop County Historical Society preserves and presents the area's local history in three museums and a historic house.	1
The Heritage Museum is housed in Astoria's former city hall, a classical revival building completed in 1905 that is currently undergoing remodeling. An exhibit scheduled to be completed this year will tell the story of the Clatsops and other Native peoples who were here before Lewis and Clark and how the Lewis and Clark visit has affected them. Vice and Virtue in Clatsop County depicts the saloons and brothels once found in Astoria. The Heritage Museum also houses the society's research center and archives, which holds more than thirty thousand images.	2
The society also operates a fire museum and children's museum in a historic building that was originally a brewery and, after Prohibition was enacted, a firehouse. The Uppertown Firefighters Museum houses fire-fighting equipment dating from 1879 to 1963. The Astoria Children's Museum offers children a hands-on introduction to the area's rich history.	3
The Flavel House as it appeared around 1888. Courtesy Clatsop County Historical Society
The society also manages the Capt. George Flavel house, a towering Queen Anne–style residence built between 1884 and 1886. The parklike grounds also include a recently restored 1880s carriage house, which houses a gift shop, orientation video, and exhibits. Society staff and volunteers restored the Flavel house to portray its Victorian elegance and the life of Captain Flavel, who prospered after becoming the first licensed bar pilot on the Columbia River and from investments in shipping, hotels, banking, and real estate. He eventually entered politics, serving as a city councilman and a county commissioner. His wife, Mary (Boelling) Flavel, came from one of the county's oldest families, who traveled from Ohio to Oregon over the Oregon Trail in 1847 and settled in Astoria in 1848. The house and its grounds are "one of the most widely-known and best-preserved of the state's grand residential properties of the late 19th-century," according to the description in the National Register of Historic Places.	4
The Clatsop County Historical Society's museums complement many other historical points in the area, from such sites as Fort Clatsop, Fort Astoria, and Fort Stevens to the Astoria Column and the wreck of the Peter Iredale. The society also publishes a research journal, Cumtux, which has been issued quarterly since 1980.	5

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