Cascade Locks Historical Museum

I tend to be an Easy A when it comes to museums. As a history buff, I love these kind of places that preserve and share our local history. However, this one didn’t really didn’t wow me.
The museum is free, although contributions are gladly accepted, and it is run by volunteers. The building is a historic house in Marina Park with four small rooms on two floors connected by a narrow staircase. Outside, a separate building displays Oregon’s first locomotive engine, The little Oregon Pony.
The small space is filled with a mishmash of antiques and photographs from a variety of eras. It is a bit overstuffed and actually feels more like an antique store, rather than a museum.
There are three rooms upstairs, two of which are furnished as display bedrooms with an abundance of quilts. The other room contains photos with old fashioned typed descriptions, a large Boy Scout flag and a mannequin in military uniform. Downstairs, one room is dedicated to the local Native American tribes with an abundance or arrowheads and arrowhead art. There is also a small kitchen. Now, I love a good vintage kitchen, but this again, was lacking. In particular, the linoleum kind of killed the historic vibe.
The museum was founded in 1969 and it appears that many of the items haven’t been updated since that time. The Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center across the river in Washington is really the place that showcases this area to its fullest. Perhaps not fair to compare the two, but I would only visit this museum again if I had another activity in the area.