Othello Community Museum to reopen next month

OTHELLO — After a closure of more than a year, the Othello Community Museum will reopen in June.

The museum at 250 E. Larch St. has free admission, but donations are accepted.

“We rely on donations. Those are always appreciated,” said LuAnn Morgan, a member of the museum board.

The museum is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays from June to September.

“We’re definitely going to open this summer. We need to get people back into the museum,” Morgan said.

The museum was built as the original First Presbyterian Church in 1908, with an addition in 1913. It opened as a museum in the mid-1970s, Morgan said.

Othello was a stop along the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, and the region attracted farmers from its earliest days, back around the turn of the 20th century. (Othello officially was founded in 1910.) Farming received a boost following World War II and the arrival of irrigation water through the Columbia Basin Project.

That history is reflected in the museum, including railroad memorabilia, exhibits that tell the story of the irrigation project, farm tools, replicas of an early 20th century schoolroom and a pioneer kitchen. The museum also presents programs on stories of local historical interest.

“Everything that relates to Othello history,” Morgan said.

The museum was closed for summer 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the restrictions put in place to fight it. Morgan said the museum would abide by any restrictions put in place by state officials.

The museum is run mostly by volunteers, and Morgan said the museum operators are looking for more help.

“We really could use some board members, or even volunteers,” she said.

A fundraising campaign is underway to replace the siding on the building, she said, and museum directors are looking for grants for that project.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.