Artifacts Confirm Local Ku Klux Klan Presence, Museum Talk Reveals

A packed audience gathered at the Baker Heritage Museum on December 9 to see artifacts that document a local Ku Klux Klan presence in the 1920s. Diana Brown presented membership ledgers, meeting minutes and application forms that were loaned for the evening by Tom Bootsma, who preserved the materials after buying the old creamery building on Valley Avenue in the late 1970s. Attendance for the talk was at least 150, and museum staff allowed attendees to run their fingers down lists looking for familiar names.

Brown traced the roots of exclusionary policy in Oregon back to the state constitution in the 1800s and reviewed how the Klan reemerged in the early 20th century. She described Klan 13 as most active from 1923 to 1924, with meetings drawing between 80 and 120 people. “We have more artifacts than we ever thought possible,” Brown said. She added historical perspective on the organization, noting that “For about 10 years they terrorized the south,” and that “White Protestant nativist groups revived the Klan in the early 20th century.”

The local history presentation made clear the Klan targeted Catholics and Jewish residents as well as African Americans. In Baker City that had concrete economic implications. The town’s only hospital at the time was Catholic, and shoppers relied on businesses owned by local Jewish residents. Brown said the Klan’s demands for money and travel ran counter to the rhythms of an agriculture based community, which contributed to the chapter’s decline by the late 1920s. She noted political pushback at the statewide level as well, pointing to later electoral outcomes as evidence that voters rejected Klan influence. “They lost their appeal,” Brown said. She closed by urging civic engagement, saying “It shows people can think for themselves,” and “How do we change things? We vote.”

Organizers framed the evening as both history and a call to community dialogue. The museum hosts its speaker series the second Tuesday of each month at 2480 Grove Street with social hour at 6 p.m. and the talk at 7 p.m. Upcoming topics include Prohibition and local logging history. The museum’s annual fundraiser A Night at Old Auburn is set for February 21, 2026, at the same address. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., the 1930s themed evening includes a costume contest and live auction, and tickets are $45. For information contact Cindy at 541 239 8491.