SPRINGFIELD – After six months of behind-the-scenes collections care and gallery renovations, the Springfield History Museum will reopen to the public on Friday, July 10, at 10 a.m., inviting visitors to experience a refreshed museum and a new exhibit exploring the history of farm labor in the Willamette Valley.
During the closure, museum staff, volunteers, and University of Oregon interns carefully researched, documented, photographed, and rehoused more than 300 artifacts in archival-quality storage materials, helping preserve Springfield’s history for future generations.
“This closure gave us the time and space to care for our collection and strengthen our role as stewards of Springfield’s history,” said Museum Curator Maddi McGraw. “We are excited to reopen with an updated gallery and an exhibit that highlights stories that have shaped our region.”
The museum also completed significant renovations to the Kathy Jensen Gallery thanks to generous support from community donors, Oregon Heritage, and the Fred W. Fields Fund of Oregon Community Foundation.
The renovated gallery features new flooring, updated exhibit cases, improved interpretive signage, and new reception and gift shop furnishings, creating a more flexible and welcoming space for visitors.
“The renovated gallery gives us new opportunities for exhibit design, educational programming, and community engagement,” McGraw said. “We think visitors will immediately notice the difference.”
New exhibits
Opening alongside the museum is Farm Labor in the Valley, a new special exhibit developed in collaboration with community historians Nancy Bray and Herb Everett. The exhibit highlights the people, cultures, and movements that helped shape agriculture in the Willamette Valley while preserving stories that are often underrepresented in traditional historical narratives.
The exhibit reflects the Museum’s ongoing commitment to preserving and sharing the stories that have shaped Springfield and the surrounding region.
“The Springfield History Museum helps preserve the stories that define who we are as a community,” said Mayor Sean VanGordon. “These renovations and this new exhibit ensure future generations can better understand the people, cultures, and events that helped shape Springfield and the Willamette Valley.”
On display through Dec. 26, 2026, the exhibit explores the history and diversity of farm workers in the Willamette Valley and Lane County from pre-colonization to the present. Through photographs, artifacts, oral histories, and archival materials, visitors will discover stories of Indigenous stewards, Filipino workers in the hop fields, the Farm Workers’ Rights Movement, the United Farm Workers, local labor organizing efforts, and the individuals who helped shape agriculture throughout our region.
Featured artifacts include materials collected by Eugene Friends of the Farm Workers, including a rare 1975 home movie documenting a Solidarity picket line at Safeway, a protest at the University of Oregon, and the March on Gallo in Modesto, Calif.
