By Daniel R. Murphy, Museum Board Member

Before the 1850s there was no method available to artificially create ice as refrigeration systems had not yet been created. Ice had to be natural, occurring on rivers and lakes when temperatures went low enough. Because of the very mild winters in the Willamette valley there was no natural ice available in commercial quantities.

Beginning in the mid-19th century experimentation with various methods to create artificial ice ensued. Air compression systems were the first to produce significant quantities of ice. Later various chemicals were harnessed that would reduce temperature enough to create ice. Before 1889 there was no ice commercially available in Albany.

by Kim Sass, ARM member and Kay Burt, Riverside Cemetery Assn. President

Photo Courtesy Kay Burt

“Celebrating Our Agricultural Heritage” is the theme of the annual History Through Headstones Tour at Albany’s Riverside Cemetery on Wednesday, July 19. It is sponsored by the Albany Regional Museum and the Riverside Cemetery Board of Directors. 

This is the 13th year for the free event where light refreshments will be served from 7 pm to dusk.  Visitors can park on either side of 7th Avenue west of Albany General Hospital and can begin their tour at either cemetery entrance.

By Kay Burt, Albany Regional Museum member

Photo Courtesy Kay Burt

This year’s Albany Regional Museum-sponsored History Through Headstones Tour is coming full circle, honoring Albany’s founders and pioneers and celebrating Riverside Cemetery’s 175th anniversary. It will be held on Wednesday, July 20.

This is the 12th year for the free event which runs from 7 p.m. to dusk. Riverside Cemetery Association board members will serve light refreshments.

By Cathy Ingalls, Albany Regional Museum board member

Starting on Aug. 13, the Albany Regional Museum will close for five months so volunteers and staff can install what’s being called “the largest ever transformation of exhibits.”

On that day from 2 to 4 p.m. before shutting its doors, the museum will host its annual member appreciation event, where those attending can take a final look at the current displays.

The plan is to reopen the museum to members on Jan. 19, 2023, and then to the public on Jan. 24.

By Cathy Ingalls, Albany Regional Museum board member

The city of Albany contains more than 800 historic commercial and residential structures, and it can brag that the town is considered to have the most-varied collection of architectural styles in the state.

Most of those buildings date from the 1840s to the 1940s and are located within about 100 square blocks.

By Cathy Ingalls, Albany Regional Museum board member

Constructed on land once inhabited by Kalapuya tribes, the cities of Albany and Millersburg and metals manufacturer ATI joined together about 12 years ago to create a wastewater treatment wetland to be known as Talking Water Gardens.

By Cathy Ingalls, Albany Regional Museum board member

Before there were bridges, towns such as Albany established on navigable rivers depended on ferries to carry goods, wagons, livestock and passengers from one side to the other.

Alexander Rainwater owned a farm on the north bank of the Willamette River just up river from Albany. Starting in the late1850s and into the mid-1880s, he conducted a ferry service from near the mouth of the Calapooia River…

By Cathy Ingalls, Albany Regional Museum board member

How did the cities, small towns and geographic areas around Albany get their names?

There are lots of different reasons and some of those answers appear in the book “Oregon Geographic Names” by Lewis A. McArthur and Lewis L. McArthur. Most of the information for this story is contained in that volume…