Historical Society Tax Will Head to Ballot: Is Our History Worth $10 a Year?Historical Society Tax Will Head to Ballot: Is Our History Worth $10 a Year?

Even as the county commission unanimously voted this morning to place a $10 million levy on the ballot to keep the state historical society afloat, they and supporters of the history tax agreed on an unsavory issue: Getting county voters to bail out the state history museum is not an ideal scenario.

But now Multnomah County voters will have the chance to decide whether keeping the doors of the cash-strapped Oregon historical museum and library open is worth the five-year property tax that works out to $10 a year for the average homeowner. If the levy passes, Multnomah County residents will get free access to the museum for library (currently tickets cost 10 bucks) but with two other basic-services tax measures on the ballot in November, the historical society is going to have a tough fight.

History fans packed the standing-room only vote this morning to tell the five-member county commission that if the state historical archives do close this spring as threatened, it could bring study of our local history to a dead halt. One supporters played the role of history-nerd Vanna White, strolling the commission room with some of the state treasures, including Lewis and Clark's branding iron. Museum docent Sharon Thorne held up a genuine beaver pelt, asking, "How many kids have had a chance to get friendly with a beaver pelt?"

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