The Willamette Methodist Mission began with a focus on education. Mission Mill Museum carries this focus forward. The museum can be viewed not as an add-on field trip, but as a partner with schools, combining educational needs with solutions. It is the desire of Mission Mill Museum to provide students with the knowledge they need to develop their own sense of heritage by connecting the present to the past, enabling them to make better choices about their future.

School Programs

Thomas Kay Woolen Mill (1889-1962) Tour
The Thomas Kay Woolen Mill was a focal point for industry in Salem for four generations. The impact of the Mill goes beyond the local community to encompass the emergence of Pendleton Woolen Mills which is still in operation today. In 2003, the Museum’s unique mill structure was designated one of America’s Treasures by the National Park Service. The Mill tour gives visitors insight into the complex process of turning raw wool into fabric as well the use of water power and child labor in early industry in the Willamette Valley.
The tour leads visitors through several buildings following the fiber to fabric process and highlights the authentic machinery used. Working belt-run drills, lathes and planers in the Mentzer Machine Shop illustrate how the millwright kept the Mill running. The second floor of the Mill building gives visitors a sense of the working conditions in the Mill as the group walks over lanolin coated floors, touches carded wool and the docent operates the clattering loom. In the finishing room visitors discover how fabric was fulled, washed, dried, napped, sheared and pressed. The finishing room also showcases the important role the Mill played during World War I and World War II in the production of army blankets for the war effort.

Explore the Lives of the Methodist Missionaries
and Oregon Trail Settlers (house tour)
Up until 1834 the non-native settlement of Oregon and the Willamette Valley was primarily confined to French-Canadian Fur Trappers working for the Hudson’s Bay Company. In that year, they were joined by Reverend Jason Lee, leader of the Methodist Mission to Oregon. Lee, and a continually growing band of missionaries, established several mission stations around the Pacific Northwest. In 1840, after requesting additional people and equipment, a group of more than fifty new missionaries (known as the Great Reinforcement) came to Oregon on the ship Lausanne. Traveling by ship allowed the missionaries to bring large and heavy items with them such as the materials for a saw mill and a grist mill. It was this saw mill, established in Salem, which cut the boards for the Jason Lee House and the Parsonage. The missionaries had a large impact on Oregon. They not only worked with the indigenous population of Kalapuya who lived in the Valley, but they helped lay the ground work for what would become the provisional government of the Territory of Oregon, for formal education and for business.
The Lee House is the oldest frame house still standing in the Pacific Northwest, and it was home to four Mission families including Jason Lee and his second wife Lucy Thompson. Several items belonging to these families are on display in the House. These original artifacts help to bring the story of the Mission alive.
The Parsonage was built to house the missionaries involved with the Indian Manual Labor Training School. These same missionaries established the Oregon Institute which became Willamette University in 1853.
The Boon House was home to Oregon Trail migrant John Boon, who served as the Territorial, and later Oregon’s first State Treasurer. Boon was a businessman in early Salem, influencing the development of the city’s transportation, communication and commerce.

Activities–These hands-on activities reinforce the lessons learned during the tour and can be gauged to the level of your class. Activity descriptions are listed below.

Outreach – A Mission Mill Museum Interpreter can bring the history to you. All of our activity programs are available to visit your class. We will provide an activity leader and supplies.

Family Fun Saturdays – every second Saturday,. 11am -1pm. Free, except for special Victorian Valentines day. See Calendar section for details.

Group Tours and Activities
Scheduling:
Call Mission Mill Museum at 503-585-7012 two or more weeks in advance.

Chaperones: Mission Mill Museum requires one adult for every 6 students. The required chaperones are admitted for free, additional adults pay the student price.

Payment: We require a non-refundable registration fee of $35. This fee is due at the time of scheduling and is applied to the cost of the tour. Please mail in the fee with your signed confirmation. The balance is due the day of the tour. We accept cash, checks, VISA, Master Card, Discover and Purchase Orders. Prices are subject to change

Late Arrival: If your group is more than 15 minutes late, your tour/activity will be shortened by 15 minutes. If you are 30 minutes late your tour/activity will be shortened by 30 minutes.

Fees:
Mission Mill Museum has a tiered fee structure for school groups:
1st Tour or Activity: $3.50
Each Additional Tour or Activity: $2.00

Woolen Mill Tour - Length: 1 hour
Max. Group Size: 75
(plus chaperones)

Mill Tour and Activity - Length: 2 hours Max.
Group Size: 60
(plus chaperones)

Early Settlement Tour - Length: 1 hour
Max. Group Size: 45 (including chaperones)

Early Settlement Tour and Activity - Length: 2 hours
Max. Group Size: 60 (plus chaperones

Activity Program
Fee: $3.50 / Student - Length: 1 hour
(Maximum group size for these tours will vary.)

Outreach (at your school)
Fee: $3.50 per student/$84 minimum, plus $0.45/mile if outside 25 miles from the museum.
Length: 1 hour
Maximum Class Size: 35

Orientation Video:

An orientation video is available for use as a classroom pre-visit resource. We highly recommend watching this video before bringing your students, as it will aid with preparing them for their visit, and will lead to a better learning experience. A $10 deposit is required and is refundable upon return of the video on the day of your tour. If you need a VHS format please request one otherwise you will receive a DVD.

Activities

Pioneer Life
Early settlers to Oregon experienced many hardships. During this lecture and hands-on exploration of the past, students gain a better understanding of the chores that pioneer children had to complete each and every day. The lives of these children were full of hard work and chores but they would always make time for play. Students participate in old time games such as graces and hoops and even make a game to take home!

School Days
Children discover what a day was like for a student in a one-room school house in the nineteenth century. A costumed school mistress or master leads your students through lesson plans of the past including arithmetic, working on slate boards, recess and a spelling bee!

The Kalapuya
The indigenous people of the Willamette Valley lived a semi-nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle. This life was dependent on such things as the weather and availability of food sources. The arrival of the Methodist Missionaries not only impacted the health of the Kalapuya but their way of life as well. Students learn through discussion and games to better understand the first people of the Willamette Valley.

Fiber to Fabric
The Industrial Revolution forever changed how fabric is manufactured. The processing and availability of fabric altered community and daily life. Fiber-to-Fabric participants explore how various natural and man made fibers were processed in the home through a hands-on examination of carding, spinning, dyeing and weaving.

Power Up!
Water was the original source of energy used to operate all the machinery in the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. This discussion and interactive activity introduces children to a variety of energy sources, their benefits and drawbacks, and how they are harnessed for consumption.

Dig It!
Archaeology is a way to explore the past through what is left behind by those who have gone before us. Students will discuss research design, scientific methods and archaeological standards while excavating boxes with items that might have been found on Mission Mill Museum’s property. Students dig, sift, map and theorize their way to a greater knowledge of history. Excellent for satudents 4th grade and up!

Christmas Traditions
* November and December Only *
This hour long activity introduces children to Christmas traditions from the Victorian Era. Learn the story behind the custom of hiding and finding the pickle on the Christmas tree and why we hang tinsel on our trees. Students create a Christmas craft to take home and enjoy for the holidays.

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Mission Mill Museum 1313 Mill St SE Salem, Oregon 97301
(503) 585-7012 fax (503) 588-9902 info@missionmill.org