About

Since 1908 (The Fisherman’s Bride), Oregon has helped give birth to such classics as The General, The Great Race, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Paint Your Wagon, Animal House, Kindergarten Cop, and, of course, The Goonies.  Some have called the State “Hollywood North.” 

Why Oregon?  Our unique landscapes allows film-makers to use Oregon as a backdrop for just about anywhere.  We’ve been the desert, the mountains, river, & sea.  Sometimes we’re California, Georgia, and a South Pacific Island.

Housed in the old Clatsop County Jail, the museum invites visitors to explore these and other films and the production behind making movies in Oregon.  Wander through this building that was an actual working jail (from 1914 – 1976) and the scene of the famous opening jail break from the Goonies.  

The Clatsop County Historical Society operates the Captain George Flavel House, the Heritage Museum, and the Uppertown Firefighter’s Museum.  In 2005, as part of the 20th Anniversary Celebration of The Goonies, the Heritage Museum featured a temporary exhibit of Goonies memorabilia.  It was our busiest weekend, month, and summer we had ever had!  Plans to create the Oregon Film Museum began shortly afterward.