About Us…
Our History
The Talent Historical Society was founded in 1994 as a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of the Talent area in Southern Oregon.
The Historical Society has assembled a number of historical collections, including diaries, Civil War letters, photographs, cemetery records, oral histories, and local newspapers. We also provide several resources to the community, such as walking tour pamphlets, a quarterly newsletter, a website and a meeting space.
Expanding Our Focus
We recently moved from a small office in the Community Hall to more spacious quarters in the old library building in the same block. The move gives us the opportunity to expand our services to the community.
Our previous small space required us to focus on collecting small historical items, primarily photographs and paper archival materials. Now, we are actively seeking to expand our historical collections to include larger artifacts as well. Many of these new larger artifacts will eventually be displayed in display cases in our new building.
Crisis and Opportunity
Since our inception, the Society has relied almost entirely upon public funding from Jackson County. However, due to severe county budget cutbacks, we have now lost all of our funding from the county. Needless to say, this is a severe problem, and the future of this Society faces a great deal of uncertainty as a result.
However, we are seeking to turn this crisis into an opportunity. We are working to stretch our remaining resources as far as possible, and are actively seeking alternative sources of funding. In addition, we are asking all citizens with an interest in our area's history to help us at this time. You can help support our work by volunteering, donating historical materials or funding, or becoming a member of the Society.