Mission Mill Marion Museum

There is a museum in Salem, Oregon with a lot of M's in it's name.  Mission stands for the Methodist (another M) mission that was established in this area during the westward movement along the Oregon Trail.  The mill stands for the woolen mill that was built here in the mid 1800's.  Marion is the name of this county and museum...well you get it.  If you are in this area, please stop by and visit this fabulous historical museum.  My brother and I toured the museum yesterday and we easily spent four hours just walking through the grounds and buildings and talking to the knowledgeable docents who are ready and willing to answer all your questions.  The mill still houses all of the original equipment and the self guided tour using the posted informative signs gives the visitor the opportunity to walk through the building at your own pace.  The life and work of the people who operated the various equipment and machines was well presented.  The woolens produced here were beautiful.  The process used to create the finishes were very interesting to me.  This building is very well laid out and easily accessible for tourists.

The parsonage is one of the oldest frame dwellings west of the Rockies.  The building, like the other buildings on this site, is filled with historical information about the life of the people in the mid 1800's.  This house was moved to this location from it's original location a few blocks away.

                                  The old church.  Very simple in design...both inside and out.

The mill race was engineered by diverting water from a nearby river into a creek and then forcing the water to channel through the mill race before it again emptied into the creek.  At that time it was common practice to empty used dyes and chemicals into the creek.  The color of the creek was determined by the dye lot of the day.  Beautiful fabric.....not so beautiful water.  well...maybe.