[Heritage] Historic Preservation Month highlights diverse resources

[Heritage Info]

May is National Historic Preservation Month and for Oregonians it's a
time to explore the state’s significant places and historical
treasures. These historic places, artifacts, photographs and documents
not only help tell the stories of our past, they also stimulate heritage
tourism, a demonstrated force in economic development in communities
throughout the state. 

Oregon Heritage, a division of the Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department, has an online calendar of historic preservation events
taking place during May. The calendar is located at
http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/calendar.shtml 

Examples of the events include a window repair workshop in Portland; a
heritage preservation fair in Salem; an Oregon Encyclopedia workshop in
Bend; a preservation fair and roundtable in Astoria; historic home tours
in Lake Oswego, Jacksonville and Pendleton; and an 1812 war veteran’s
ceremony in Amity. 

“Preservation is an important part of the infrastructure of many
communities,” says Roger Roper, deputy state historic preservation
officer and assistant director of the Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department. “May is a great time to explore the diversity of our
heritage and to learn preservation skills.”

Oregon has more than 200 museums, dozens of archives and 300 public
libraries, many of which have historic collections. For example, among
the collections of the Oregon Historical Society, are more than 2.5
million photographic images.

In addition there are nearly 2,000 individual properties on the
National Register of Historic Places, at least one in every county.
There are nearly 800 designated historic cemeteries. It’s also been
estimated that 75 percent of U.S. leisure travelers participate in
cultural and/or heritage activities during travel.

In 2010, nearly $10 million in private re-investment was stimulated by
seven Oregon Main Street communities which are using historic business
areas.
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