McMenamins History Pubs: Uncover Oregon’s People and Places

Photo by Merve Şahin

McMenamins History Pub invites you to explore Oregon and Pacific Northwest history.

Enjoy an evening with local experts, scholars, first-person experiencers and historians who dive into topics from Lewis and Clark to shipwrecks, hop growing to women pioneers and beyond.

McMenamins History Pub is like attending a college lecture with a stiff drink and full menu of tasty food.

Here are the upcoming events.

Upcoming McMenamins History Pub Events

Railroads along the Columbia River: 215 Years of Transportation

Railroads along the Columbia River have driven tourism, immigration, and economic growth since the 1850s. During this history pub, “Big River” author T. Trent Stetz explores the history of transportation along the 85-mile-long Columbia River Gorge.

T. Trent Stetz has served as editor and frequent contributor to the National Railway Society’s newsletter for the Pacific Northwest Chapter over the past twelve years. He is a retired physicist and currently a board member of the Antique Powerland Museum Association in Brooks, Oregon.

This event is Monday, March 10, at Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey St. in Troutdale.

Tickets are $5 in advance. All ages are welcome. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event starts at 7 p.m.

Forest Pub: Building the New PDX Airport with Local Mass Timber

Join the World Forestry Center and Port of Portland to hear stories behind the design, construction and sourcing of the new main terminal at Portland International Airport. Utilizing mass timber and locally sourced timber, the terminal has gained international recognition for its first-of-its-kind approach to a large-scale civic project.

The event is Monday, March 10, at Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St. in Portland.

Tickets are $5-$11 sliding scale. All ages are welcome. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event starts at 7 p.m.

Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts

This is a Documentary screening and Q&A with producer and director Dru Holley. Established by Congress in 1867, the post-Civil War African American regiment, the Buffalo Soldiers, fought military conflicts abroad and civil rights struggles at home. In spite of being denied citizenship by the Jim Crow laws established in the Reconstructionist South, these patriotic men helped lead the United States expansion westward. The story of the Buffalo Soldiers involves complexities of race, class, power, colonialism and Western expansion.

The documentary film Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts focuses on the men who were part of this complicated history of the American West. In 2022, it was named Pacific Northwest Best Documentary at the Tacoma Film Festival.

This event is Wednesday, March 12, at Grand Lodge, 3505 Pacific Ave. in Forest Grove.

Tickets are $10. All ages are welcome. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event starts at 7 p.m.

Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River

Author Johanna Ogden presents her book “Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River: The Global Fight for Indian Independence and Citizenship” followed by Q&A.

In the early 1900s, Oregon was at the center of two entwined quests for Indian independence and civic belonging that rocked the world. “Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River: traces the stories of the radical Indian independence organization known as Ghadar and Bhagat Singh Thind’s era-defining US Supreme Court citizenship case. Despite widely differing strategies, both the movement and the men were targeted, often in coordination, by the highest levels of the US and British governments.

Johanna Ogden is an independent historian and local activist based in Portland.

This event is Monday, March 31, at Kennedy School in 5736 NE 33rd Ave.

Tickets are $5 in advance. All ages are welcome. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event starts at 7 p.m.

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