Exhibits
Oregon Trail Cutoff Fever
Welcome to our first online exhibit. Click on the tabs below to learn about this harrowing journey "west.” Photos will soon be added.
The Rescued - Panel II
Abram Patterson was 19 years old when rescued. Some five years later he married Sarah E. Christian (1858). Together they raised three sons. During the same year that he married, Mr. Patterson was elected to the state assembly.
Patterson took over the Brumley Store, which was the first mercantile business in Eugene City (see drawing at left). Beginning in 1869 he served as Eugene City’s postmaster for 15 years. He also eventually owned a ¼ interest in the Eugene City Flouring Mills. In 1881 he became a Mason and two years later became vice-president of the Lane County Pioneer Association, the forerunner of today’s Lane County Historical Society. Abram Patterson was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in 1921.
Pleasant G. Lemley, a member of the Lost Wagon Train, was an adult in his thirties when rescued. Born in Alabama, he apparently became a justice of the peace in Eugene City. Relatives were known to be in the Junction City and Pleasant Hill areas by the time of the Civil War (1861-1865). Mr. Lemley was admitted to the local Masonic lodge in 1860 and transferred lodge membership in 1882.
Little is presently known of Daniel W. Keith. Born in Kentucky about the year 1815, he was a mature adult when he was rescued from the Lost Wagon Train. He later operated one of the many local ferries. By the time of the Rogue Indian War of 1855-56, he became the 1st Lieutenant of Lane County’s Company A, 2nd Regiment, Oregon Mounted Volunteers. By the end of the conflict he was a captain and commanded Company C of the same regiment. He was present at the opening of the local Masonic Lodge in July 1856, but by the time of the 1860 census he was apparently bitten by the gold bug and in Jackson County.
Anderson H. Darneille was an adult and already a Mason when rescued in 1853. He became a founding member of the local Masonic Lodge and took up a land claim near Alvadore. Flooded out in 1863, he moved to Grant’s Pass and disappears from the local records. A relative, Isaac, possibly his son, was with him during the overland trek and was also rescued.
2007 Passport to the Past Winners
Plan your next visit to the Lane County Historical Museum soon! It’s easy!
- We're Open
- Tuesday through Saturday
10 am to 4 pm - Closed Sundays and Mondays
- Affordable Admission
- Adults $3.00
- Seniors $2.00
- Youth (15 - 17) $.75
- Free unlimited admission for Society members!
- We’re easy to find next to the Lane County Fairgrounds
- If you’re heading east on 13th Avenue, you’ll see our building between Monroe and Jefferson on the right. Look for a sign that says, “Museum Entrance”
The address is 740 W. 13th Ave. - Get directions here
- Mailing Address
- Lane County Historical Society
- P.O. Box 5407
Eugene, OR 97405-3819 - Free Parking
- There’s plenty of free parking in the lot east of the Museum at the corner of 13th and Jefferson. Walk through the gates to enter the Fairgrounds. Walk past the white Clerk’s Building on your right and turn right for the Museum entrance.
- Handicapped Access
- The Main Exhibition Hall and Museum Store are accessible.
- Shopping & Food
- Shop at our Museum Store, open during regular hours. Members always receive a discount! There are many restaurants in nearby downtown Eugene. No food or drink is allowed in the Museum.