I am currently working on assignment in John Day, Oregon. I had the pleasure of going to the museum…read morewith a guided tour. My tour guide was a tall guy, unfortunately, I cannot remember his name. He was very informative about the museum and about the home. I felt sad at one point because the last person to own the home/business, went for a simple procedure and unfortunately passed away. You can still see the date he left on the calendar. The museum was very informative and some of the patient letters were very touching. This is a very nice gym within the small town of John date. Also, when you go into the reception center/gift shop you will see all of the items people have found in their yards that date back to the early 1900s. I highly recommend visiting the museum with a guided tour.

An important piece of Oregon and Chinese history, a must see!…read more I felt very fortunate to have visited the Kam Wah Chung Museum on my recent trip to Oregon. Seeing how the early Chinese settlers came to the US under harsh working environment, racial discrimination, language barriers and away from their families made me realized how resilient and strong of all these Chinese men. Being part Chinese and an immigrant myself, I could relate to some of their struggles. Located in John Day on the main street, this musem contains two parts. The first part is the museum with glass cased exhibits with illustration of early Chinese settlers and brief descriptions of the lives of Doc Hay and Lung On. The second part of the museum is only available as a guided tour, where you can enter the living quarter and pharmacy of Doc Hay and Lung On. I highly recommend taking the guided tour of the living quarter/pharmacy of Doc Hay and Lung On, as the staff tried to preserve all the original details back in its days. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, and she mentioned each single detail (down to mouse trap) in the house. The front of the house contains a red chair that Doc Hay would take your pulse and determine your health, with the pharmacy right behind his chair. We also saw Doc Hay's bedroom, common kitchen, sleeping quarters and Lung On's room. The most striking part of the tour was when guide mentioned how the Chinese settlers had to lock themselves in every evening to avoid getting shot by drunk white people. They also set up a water pump inside (vs. outside) of the house to avoid leaving the safety of the premise. Despite the harsh circumstances, I saw many posters on the walls of spending good time with friends and making huge fortunes. I admired their optimism and hard work under such extenuating circumstances. Overall, this is an important part of Oregon and Chinese history that you should definitely see. It is wonderful to see deliberate efforts are made to feature the contribution of minorities to the US history. It is also heartwarming and yet bittersweet to witness the obstacles our ancestors overcame to give better lives to future generations. Inspirational and highly recommend!

This was a small, well organized collection tucked away in a beautiful location where you feel like…read morea fossil is going to jump out of the mountain right in front of you. (or something like that) When I think of Paleontology, I assume 'dinosaurs'.... and at this museum, I learned that wasn't necessarily the case..... but it was fascinating to see various specimens of familiar animals that have evolved over time.... did you know there was once a 3-toed horse? Some of these kinds of subtleties were a little lost on my kids - especially my 4 year old who kinda got the zoomies looking for a t-rex in this small space.... but the rest of us managed to enjoy it. Definitely worth it if you happen to be in this part of "the middle of nowhere."

We really enjoyed our visit here! The rangers gave the kiddos in our group an activity booklet to…read moredo, and upon completing at least some of the book, they received wooden badges to pin on their lapels, and they were sworn in as junior rangers. The kids loved it. The center has tons of great exhibits and info. As for COVID protocols, they had timed entries with limited capacity. 30 minutes didn't quite feel like enough time but we didn't want to stay for another round just to look at the exhibits closer. Overall an excellent resource and worth stopping here. Oh, be sure to take the brief hike up the hill at the south end of the parking lot! Great views from there and there's a bench at the top. Beware of red/fire ants along the trail.

The dioramas give you an idea if what it was like. The descriptions from diaries are excellent and…read morehelpful you understand what it was like. Seeing the actual ruts from the wagons that traveled the trail--well, if they could only talk. Visit. You will be better for it!

Came here for a few hours and really enjoyed it. Beautiful surroundings and grounds. Lots of…read morewalking trails that lead to Oregon Trail wagon ruts. The museum is also really cool with dioramas, taxidermy, and lots of info about Oregon's early history. Would definitely come back again.

Take a moment, breath it in. SEE it. Experience history…read more Spit in the water and watch all the little river fish come try and eat it. Love Sumpter!

We love industrial historical sites and this did not disappoint. Lots of history to marvel at and…read moreexplore. Never heard of gold dredges so fascinating plus enjoyed going back in time in local town. Very picturesque location.

I've stopped here a few times over the decades. Handy access right off the highway. Usually not a…read morelot of people here especially on a weekday. Some good photography opportunities and a lot of historical artifacts. There is an interesting information center and historical display up on the hill on the other side of the highway. Worth a stop if you've never been there before. There are hiking trails that go off a ways that I have never gone on but the mile or so round trip from the historic house is interesting enough. They do have staff there and offer tours of the grounds although I have never taken advantage of them.

The Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds was a fabulous day trip! We were with a toddler and…read morea baby (in a BOB stroller), so we did all of the hikes except the longer two in the Blue Basin area. We started off in the Foree area and worked our way south. Also, the hikes got continuously more disappointing in this direction. I do not recommend the River Trail, as there is no view of the river (not maintained?), and I also did not enjoy the Thomas Condon Overlook Trail as it had almost the same view as the Sheep Rock Overlook Trail. I definitely recommend picking up a passport to the National Parks as well as getting your cancellation stamp for all 3 John Day Fossil Bed Units at the Visitor center. Though it isn't marked on the map, there are a couple of picnic tables at the visitor center as well. The Cant house was OK, but don't be too sad if you miss it due to the limited hours. Only the downstairs is open for viewing, and there are only three small rooms of exhibits. I loved the Flood of Fire and Story in Stone hikes!

Such a great museum! We had no idea it was so big. The kids…read morereally enjoyed looking at all the different exhibits. You can easily stay hours here looking at everything. Even the gift shop is well thought out! You should read about the history of the building and what it was built for. So fascinating!

Came here with my fiancé over the weekend and we enjoyed every minute of our visit. The museum was…read morehuge and had a number of very detailed exhibits. It was very much like walking through a time capsule. The two ladies at the front desk were very friendly friendly and informative. My favorite was the room full of gems.

Yummy food, great service! Friendly owners! It's a great place to go for a sandwich, coffee or ice…read morecream cone!

A nice little place just on the outskirts of Baker City. Not a lot there except some signs,…read moreofferings, and some spots where the bodies were exhumed to be returned to China. Still a neat part of history and worth the visit. (Pro tip: do not use maps to find this place, it is behind the grocery outlet in town. iPhone wanted to take me up a hill and into someone's driveway)

Made a 10 min stop to check this out. I think it's important to realize the history that went into…read moremaking American