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Check out our online archive
Through a collaboration with the Oregon State Library and with support from the Schwemm Family Foundation, a portion of our historic collections is now online as part of the Northwest Digital Heritage platform. Our online collections include photos, documents, objects, and audio recordings - and we're adding more all
What's your history mystery?
Search for the answer in our archives! Resources include over 70 years of the Gresham Outlook (our local newspaper) as well as thousands of historic documents and photos covering over 150 years of our community's heritage.
Contact us to book a research room appointment.
Museum Collection
Containing over 3,000 objects, the Museum Collection spans Gresham's history and contains innumerable stories that our curators share via rotating exhibits.
Searchable Archives
Find documents compiled and scanned primarily for research purposes. These include newspaper clippings, obituaries, records on historic properties, and various memoirs and research papers, both published and unpublished.
Researching Historic Homes & Buildings
Online Resources to Guide Your Search
Whether you own a historic property or just want to learn more about our built environment, you're in luck! There are multiple ways you can search for a house or property online. The documents below include a guide to finding and using these resources.
If you can't find the information you're looking for in the documents below, we suggest contacting the Multnomah County Tax Assessor's office for a property card. Property owners may also hire a title company to research a property's chain of ownership back to the first land claim.
Witter Residence on South Roberts, constructed in 1906
Donate to the Collection
Do you have belongings, papers, or family photos you're interested in donating to the Gresham Historical Society? We'd like to hear about them!
Donation offers must pass through a committee review before we are able to accept items. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Explore
Exhibits
Save the Polar King Signs
Save the Polar King Signs
GHS offers an array of rotating exhibits on themes in local history, changing every year to feature different subjects. Explore this year's exhibits with a kid-friendly museum scavenger hunt!
Save the Polar King Signs
Save the Polar King Signs
Save the Polar King Signs
Donate to the restoration fund for the two iconic polar bear signs from the Polar King Restaurant. Help us reach $10,000 by December 31!
Lectures & Documentaries
Save the Polar King Signs
Lectures & Documentaries
GHS volunteers and staff are working hard to find great local history stories and share them with you. Check out their research on our YouTube channel and learn about upcoming lectures at the museum.
Blog
Save the Polar King Signs
Lectures & Documentaries
Learn what's going on behind the scenes at the museum on the GHS blog. Volunteers and staff compile their research and stories from the archives with historic photos.