Whether exploring the history of your home, looking up an ancestor from Astoria, or researching for a term paper, this is an excellent resource for casual and professional scholars alike. Led by archivist Liisa Penner and located in the Heritage Museum, the Liisa Penner Research Center & Archives contains a wealth of primary materials relating to the history of Clatsop County. Highlights of the archive include personal diaries and journals dating to the 1840s, City Directories beginning in the 1890s, Sanborn and Metsker Maps, local high school yearbooks, materials related to the local Finnish population, our Native American family history project, and over 45,000 historic photos.

We have also compiled our secondary sources into easy to access formats. These include collecting past researchers’ work for future use, assembling copious vertical files of biographical information and local subject matter, and undertaking an extensive indexing project.

Access to the Liisa Penner Research Center & Archives is by appointment only. Schedule your visit by calling 503-338-4849 or email archivist@astoriamuseums.org.