TCPA Members, and the public and potential members, are invited to attend the Tillamook County Pioneer Association meeting, meal and presentation of the Pioneer of the Year on Sunday June 14th at Alderbrook Hall in Tillamook. Come and visit at 1 pm, enjoy a meal provided by the Pioneer Association at 1:30 pm, followed by the meeting a 2 pm.
In June 2022, the Tillamook County Pioneer Association decided to lower the “age limit” – to 20 years for membership. Membership includes unlimited admission to the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, a discount on our three historical books, and a subscription to the Pioneer Bylines Newsletter. Dues are from July 1 to June 30. Annual dues are $20, except for Lifetime members (those 80 years young!) Lifetime members are exempt from yearly dues. Donations are welcome. The Pioneer Bylines Newsletter goes out in January, May and September with information about the meetings. Meetings are held in February, June, and October in Sandlake, Tillamook, and Rockaway.
Tillamook County enjoys a rich history. For thousands of years Native Americans lived and thrived on the rich lands surrounding Tillamook Bay. Most of the written history that we have today begins August 14, 1788 when Captain Robert Gray sailed his ship Lady Washington into Tillamook Bay, and then on April 1, 1851 when Joe Champion became the first white settler in Tillamook County.
TCPA – celebrating 92 years of education and preservation of our cultural heritage through the continuing support of the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum and other historical projects.
When the pioneer families gathered at “Aunt” Rhoda Quick Johnson’s 90th birthday party on March 23, 1934, the idea to create an association dedicated to preserving the history of Tillamook County was formed. The first official meeting was held at the Fairview Grange Hall on May 25, 1934, and according to the minutes – “The meeting after a potluck lunch, which turned out to be a bounteous repast, including lemon pie a-la-mode, was called to order by William Maxwell.” Dues were set at twenty-five cents. The first officers were President A. G. Bials, Vice Presidents (representing north, central and south areas) were Albert Easom, Emil Wooley and Henry Leach, and Secretary/treasurer/historian G. H. Ward. Donations were solicited over the next year that would begin a small museum located in a single room in the retired county courthouse. The first donation listed in the archives was a rifle from Rollie Watson, publisher of the county’s first newspaper.
Since the Museum opened in 1935, the Tillamook County Pioneer Association has collected and maintained thousands of genealogical and historical records concerning past Tillamook County residents. The records are housed in the Museum’s Library and are available for public use. Please contact the museum to make arrangements to use these records.
Formation of Tillamook Pioneer Association, May 25, 1934
Pioneers at the first meeting of Tillamook County Pioneers, May 24, 1934:
Wm. Maxwell, Mimiel? Maxwell, Frances Steinbach, D. R. (Dolph) Timmerstett?, Edward Weston, Rachel Weston, H.L. Jensen, Adella Jensen, Lewis Johnson, W.J. Stephens, Emil M. Wooley, E.L. Robertson, Anna Robertson, Susan Price, Mrs. W.J. Stephens, Grace L. Beals, Mrs. Emil Wooley, May Johnson, Eva M. Leach, Rhoda Quick Johnson, Anna Neilson, Lena Tohl, Dolly Miller, G.H. Ward, W.H. Leach, E.H. Neilson, H.J. Tohl, G.W. Olson, Wm. E. Easom, Lizzie Easom, Albert Easom, Mathis? Easom, Katie F. Wilkes, May Thomas, Mrs. G.W. Olson, Frank Bester, Grace Bester, Jimmie? Timmerstet?, Chet Thomas, A.G. Beals
Please get in touch with the TCPA by email – tcpa@gmail.com or write: Tillamook County Pioneer Association PO Box 992 Tillamook, OR 97141. TCPA wants to recreate this photo with the descendants of the original Pioneers.
The TCPA welcomes anyone that has lived in Tillamook County for 20 years to join, dues are $20.00 a year and include free admission to the Museum and “Pioneer Perks” – discounts at sponsoring local businesses.
Check out the website for more: www.tillamookcountypioneerassociation.blogspot.com to find out more about joining the Tillamook County Pioneer Association.
Join us for lunch, great conversation and honoring the Pioneer of the Year on Sunday June 14th.
