Steam threshing at John Gower's farm, Howell Prairie area, 1894 July 20, 2017 Episode.
The invention of the steam-powered engine and its widespread adaptations were integral to the growth of the West, especially impacting agriculture and logging practices in Oregon. Powerland Heritage Park (formerly Antique Powerland), with its campus of many unique but integrated museums, pays respect to the full scope of the machinery that built the Oregon we now call home. Kathleen Mason, their director of marketing, joined us in this episode to remind us of what a fun and educational place we have just north of Salem in the Brooks area!
"Antique Powerland" began in the 1970s when farmers in the Brooks area of north Salem got together to fire up their steam-powered threshing machines. Coming together to complete the harvesting of the grain was as common in our earlier days as a barn-raising, probably more so since it happened every year. Men seem to be genetically wired to enjoy powerful machinery and driven to develop improvements. What is the adage, 'the difference between men and boys is the size of their toys"? Seems to hold true here.
The 62-acre complex located at Exit 263, I-5 freeway, is home to 15 different museums and heritage organizations whose mission is to celebrate the power, people, and machinery that drove agriculture, logging, transportation, and utilities in the late 1800s to the mid-2000s.
 Caterpillar Grader, Road Construction, Salem c1900 |  Steam Shovel, Tumalo Dam construction, 1914 |
 Remington Logging Tractor, 1891 |  Steam Fire Engine Parade, Silverton 1954 |
The fifteen museums run the gamut from vintage automobiles and motorcycles, heavy-duty construction equipment, full-scale electric and model railroads, classic farm tractors, a working blacksmith shop, lumber mill, and flour milling operation, the historical society in the original Brooks railroad station with an operating passenger train and a trolley, among other wonderful gems.
Each summer they provide a special event over two consecutive weekends that allows us an opportunity to experience all the noise and smells of these working treasures up close and personal, the Great Oregon Steam-Up. This amazing family-oriented event includes twice-daily parades of decorated tractors and steam engines, as well as a quilt show and ongoing demonstrations of various types of equipment in action, including one such machine that makes the most delicious ice cream! In 2017, the 47th annual Steam-Up will be held July 29 & 30, and August 5 & 6. I know we'll be there again this year!
The Park is also planning an event to help you celebrate the upcoming Solar Eclipse. The Oregon Electrical Railway Museum will be hosting the Great Oregon Solar Eclipse Campout. For more information on this event, check out this link.
Each summer they provide a special event over two consecutive weekends that allows us an opportunity to experience all the noise and smells of these working treasures up close and personal, the Great Oregon Steam-Up. This amazing family-oriented event includes twice-daily parades of decorated tractors and steam engines, as well as a quilt show and ongoing demonstrations of various types of equipment in action, including one such machine that makes the most delicious ice cream! In 2017, the 47th annual Steam-Up will be held July 29 & 30, and August 5 & 6. I know we'll be there again this year!
The Park is also planning an event to help you celebrate the upcoming Solar Eclipse. The Oregon Electrical Railway Museum will be hosting the Great Oregon Solar Eclipse Campout. For more information on this event, check out this link.
It's rare that we find one complex that can offer so many intergenerational hands-on learning opportunities for youngsters and those still young at heart, those who like to reminisce about days gone by, as well as those who like to recognize just how far we've come using ingenuity and grit! This special place is just down the road a bit, and is truly a place you can visit over and over, finding something new to marvel at each time!
For more information, please check out their website here.
For more information, please check out their website here.
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