Basin Adventures: Explore the Favell
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"We are a Horse Nation" by Rowy Anderson shown at the Favell Museum in Klamath Falls, Ore. (Favell Museum)
Favell Museum of Native American Artifacts & Contemporary Western Art
Home to a large collection of Native American Artifacts and Contemporary Western Art the Favell Museum is a cultural treasure of North and South America, located right here in the Klamath Basin. With the help of the Klamath Falls KOA Journey we explore what the Favell Museum has to offer.
“The Favell Museum … is dedicated to the Indians who roamed and loved this land before the coming of the white man and to those artists who truly portray the inherited beauty which surrounds us. Their artifacts and art are an important part of the heritage of the West.”
Originally created by Gene & Winifred Favell, as a museum dedicated to the Indians who roamed and loved this land before the coming of the white man. Today the museum is run by a non-profit foundation.
Native American Artifacts
Over 100,000 artifacts, illustrating the lives of indigenous tribes from North and South America are on display, with the primary focus on Native American tribes. Collections dating from 12,000 years ago include thousands of arrowheads, obsidian knives, spear points, primitive ancient stone tools, native clothing, intricate bead work, basketry, pottery and more. The museum is home to an incredible fire opal arrowhead, found in the Black Rock Desert in 1910.
The collections on display give the visitor a suggestion of the richness and variety of societies no longer here and they illustrate how creative and adaptive the native people were. The artifacts give you a feel for what it must have been like for the early Native Americans to survive and thrive in southern Oregon, on the Columbia River and up and down the west coast of North and South America. Cultures from the mid-west to the Pacific and from Peru to Alaska are represented.
Contemporary Western Art
Among the ancient artifacts, you will find original paintings by many famous western artists, including the original oil “The Scouts” by Charles M. Russell. You will also find original paintings by John Clymer, Frank McCarthy and many more, who tell in their own artistic style, the story of the west. The displays represent a significant roll call of the Cowboy Artists of America.
Highlights of the Museum
- Cougar Mountain Cave artifacts date back nearly 12,000 years. The ancient people who lived near Cougar Mountain Cave witnessed the eruption of Mt. Mazama which created Crater Lake 9,000 years ago.
- Nicolarsen Cave artifacts include the oldest known atlatl with attached boatstone. This hunting tool predated the bow and arrow by several thousand years. It was used to extend the throwing power of the arm.
- Inca Textiles are recognized as the most unique and beautiful weavings known to man. The museum’s textile collection includes the tools used to weave them.
- Pottery exhibited highlight cultural differences. Dating back 1,000 years, collections include Anasazi, Hohokam, Mimbres, Salado, Zuni, and Tonto Basin.
- Baskets were the universal storage and carrying tool of ancient man. Represented are examples of Apache, Karok, Pomo, Panamint, Modoc, Klamath and other tribes of the Western United States.
- Clovis Points dating to 13,500 are recognized as the oldest projectile points in North America. Apparently an “American” invention, they are associated with bones of ancient mammoths.
For more information on the Favell Museum, hours and admission visit http://favellmuseum.org/
Information curated from FavellMuseum.org.
Basin Adventures is brought to you by the Klamath Falls KOA Journey. Centrally located in Klamath Falls, the Klamath Falls KOA Journey is the perfect base camp to visit all the spectacular recreation sites of the Klamath Basin.
Visit http://koa.com/campgrounds/klamath/ for more details.