Butte County’s Museum Weekend kicks off on Saturday, February 28 and runs through March 1, and Downtown Oroville has five participating locations waiting to showcase their many wonders to you and your family. Packed with history and color, Oroville is one of the north state’s most concentrated collections of fascinating historical drama.
Chinese Temple
One of Downtown Oroville’s most beloved institutions, the Chinese Temple never fails to impress. A 19th-century house of worship for one of the area’s historically underrepresented communities, the temple provides insight into how the many Chinese immigrants instrumental to Oroville’s growth lived and worked, supporting the early communities that established Oroville at the time of the California Gold Rush. See a selection of period clothing and photography, stunning historical artifacts, and a garden courtyard, then move to the beautifully ornamented Liet Sheng Kong “Temple of Many Deities.” There’s also the Moon Room, a shrine of Buddhist devotion, and a replica shop of the period with real gold scales and a historical apothecary cabinet for herbal remedies.
To get hands-on with history, the temple will feature an origami station celebrating Asian art during this year’s Museum Weekend.
Pioneer History Museum
For an entirely different focus on the early California pioneer spirit, the Pioneer History Museum showcases the experience of those who came to Oroville as part of the Gold Rush. The museum has a history all its own, first opened in 1932, and it’s gradually become a can’t-miss attraction of the area, with all manners of period artifacts, replicas, and dioramas, including a 49er’s cabin. Come take a glimpse into the past and marvel at the ingenuity and industriousness of the region’s early settlers.
For Museum Weekend, the Pioneer History Museum will have a host of characters in period clothing and offer special, one-time-only opportunities not normally available to visitors, allowing you to get closer to the tools of prospectors and pioneers than ever. There will also be samples of hardtack available for those who want to discover a taste of the journey to the West.
C.F. Lott Home
One of the major pioneer figures of the Gold Rush was C.F. “Judge” Lott, who was also a state senator who dealt with formative issues of California government prior to the turn of the century. He built his family home, now known as the C.F. Lott Home, in Oroville, and purchased an entire city block that created what is now Sank Park. This beautiful historic home, more than 150 years old, is open to the public as a museum, featuring original furnishings, clothing, and silver and glassware used by the family, showing the upper-class side of the pioneer experience.
As a Museum Weekend special, there will be a scavenger hunt available at the C.F. Lott Home that you won’t want to miss, complete with prizes!
Feather River Nature Center
While the Gold Rush saw the vast majority of the area’s residents vanish as miners eventually left the area during the last years of the era, those who stayed behind had much to consider. The Feather River Nature Center represents much of this history, centered on what was Oroville’s first city park in 1926. A bathhouse was eventually built that was washed away in the flood, and the site remained abandoned for the better part of 60 years. Now it houses a wondrous spread of nature exhibits that detail local wildlife, native plants, and the ecosystems of the Feather River. It’s a perfect place to experience the natural beauty of one of Northern California’s most beautiful regions, all mere steps from the core of Downtown Oroville.
As a special offering for Museum Weekend, visitors to the Center will be able to make their own bracelets at a special Salmon Lifecycle craft station.
Oroville State Theater
One of Downtown Oroville’s most enduring symbols is the Oroville State Theater. Built in the late 1920s, it was privately purchased around 50 years later before coming back into the possession of the City of Oroville. It has since been restored by volunteers dedicated to its preservation, and there’s absolutely no experience like seeing its working Wurlitzer theatrical pipe organ in action.
As a special treat for Museum Weekend, Live demonstrations of the Wurlitzer will take place on Sunday, March 1. You won’t want to miss it!
As a part of Explore Butte County’s wider Museum Weekend, visitors can pick up a Passport at any participating location, and visiting 5 museums will earn them delicious rewards from local eateries across the county. History has never been so sweet! Visit EBC’s Museum Weekend website for more information.
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