The Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum (OSHM) celebrates the Rangeley region’s important outdoor legacy as well as the significant national impacts that colorful history has made on what Rangeley is today, a vibrant eco-tourism destination. OSHM is the 2nd museum to be opened by The Rangeley Lakes Region Historical Society. The first was our Rangeley History Museum located on Main St. in Rangeley which contains records and artifacts and Family and Gilded Age histories of the region.
Thanks to the diverse collection of beautiful vintage outdoor equipment, boats, art and unique memorabilia on exhibit at this fabulous museum, OSHM has been named "Best Sporting Museum in New England" by Yankee Magazine in both 2011 and 2014.
The staff continually adds and enhances the collections that share a wide variety of topics including the extensive Native American experience here in the region which began approximately 12,700 years ago. In September 2015, with the assistance of Archaeologist Dr. Richard Gramly and volunteers, a stone rimmed cache was moved to Oquossoc from its original site on the historic Magalloway River Valley. The cache was used by Palaeo families to store food from their harvest of migrating caribou and is 7,000 years older than Stonehenge! Inside the museum visitors will find a beautiful collection of stone points, knives and tools used by the early visitors to the region. There are also numerous other native American artifacts including, birch bark baskets, moose calls and canoes as well as war clubs, paddles and snow shoes.
The Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum also has an exhibit highlighting President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s visit to the region 60 years ago. This exciting exhibit features an original oil-on-canvas portrait of the President’s Rangeley Guide, Don Cameron that was painted by the President while in office! The exhibit also features vintage film of “Ike” fly fishing at Little Boy Falls as a guest of the Brown Paper Company's Parmacheenee Club and welcome reception in downtown Rangeley. We have also obtained a long lost audio recording of the official welcome ceremony which was attended by local dignitaries including Herb Welch, who cuts up with “Ike” as he gives him a copy of his fine bronze sculpture of two leaping trout. OSHM has an exact duplicate of this exquisite bronze on loan to its collection for this exhibit as well as 8 White house letters sent by the President to Cameron after their time together. Also on display are vintage photos, artifacts and a prized fishing knife given to Cameron by the President.
Extensive collections of vintage watercraft including the oldest known Rangeley Boat (originally called the Indian Rock Boat after the location where the first six were built for the Oquossoc Angling Assoc.), a rare handcrafted birch bark canoe, a vintage custom Pool Boat double-ender used at Upper Dam, and a very rare 1903 Carleton Sailing Canoe.
The Museum has an extensive collection of guiding and warden memorabilia. Many exhibits feature vintage mounts, film and photographs and artifacts that vividly share each fascinating story and there are more than could ever be described here. The museum is a must for visitors to the region and never disappoints!
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- Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum Rangeley (0.0 miles) - The Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum (OSHM) celebrates the Rangeley region’s important outdoor leg...
