History education and classic cars will collide as the Southern Oregon Historical Society gears up for its first-ever Cars Through History show set to be hosted at the historic Hanley Farm.

From a 1920 Buick Touring car to a 1946 fire engine owned by SOHS, the event will include everyday drivers and automobile oddities made between 1910 and 1970.

The show, set from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at Hanley Farm, 1053 Hanley Road, Central Point, is free.

For more details, visit sohs.org/event/cars-through-history.

Cars Through History isn’t meant to showcase rare and exotic vehicles as seen through the years, but to demonstrate the progression of everyday automobiles through the 20th century.

“We’re not looking for hot rods or show cars; we just want to represent that evolution of those cars,” said Steve Corelis, a volunteer with SOHS. “Our mission as a historical society is to preserve, protect and share history, and to me, this is a wonderful way to share a piece of history.”

“It’s a show of cars, not necessarily a car show,” Corelis added.

The vehicles will be grouped by decade, with cars from the 1920s, 1960s and other eras separated to give viewers a sense of evolving styles, features and other details.

Corelis and other organizers are excited to bring the event out for the first time for Rogue Valley car and history lovers.

“We kind of came up with the idea of ‘why don’t we have a car show?’ and then that evolved into ‘why don’t we have a history of cars show?’” he said.

Twenty-one car owners had registered their rides as of July 23, with more expected to register in the days leading up to the event.

The registered automobiles include Ford Model A’s, a 1967 Mercury Cougar and numerous Buick vehicles owned by the Hanley family between 1917 and 1968.

“As you go through the show, you can just start chatting with the car owners; they’ll be sitting there and they’ll bend your ear,” Corelis said. “The best part is that the owners of the cars, they’re the historians, and they know what their car represented and all about them, and they love sharing about it.”

Beyond the automobiles on display, Cars Through History will include entertainment for kids, encouraging families to take part in the fun.

There will be games and activities from the pioneer days such as hoop rolling, dolly making and a pinewood derby track.

“We really want people to come out; this is a family-oriented affair, and in partnership with the Boy Scouts, they’re going to set up a pinewood derby track,” Corelis said.

The Las Palmas food truck will be at the show for visitors to chow down on Mexican cuisine.

Attendees will also be able to take free tours of the Hanley home and property while admiring some of the vehicles driven by the Hanleys.

“The family was well off, so Mary Hanley began buying Buicks in 1917,” Corelis said.

The Hanleys owned numerous Buicks, from the initial Buick Touring car to multiple sedans in the mid 1900s.

“It is a beautiful setting. I think the cars will really look good there,” he said of the farm.

Organizers are hoping Cars Through History is a hit with Rogue Valley residents.

“I, for one, really hope this becomes a regular thing and goes on the list of car shows in the valley, from Medford Cruise to Grants Pass’ show and all the others,” Corelis said. “I’d love to have music and maybe some more things for the kids to do.”

Corelis has always been interested in connecting the past to the present and educating people on bygone days.

“One of the first things that I started to do was study the Oregon Trail and history of that,” he said, adding, “I’ll never be ‘unamazed’ about what those people accomplished by literally walking 2,000 miles through the suffering and all of that, and then coming with nothing to the area and building a life.”

“When you start studying the area, you find out where all the names of the streets come from,” he added. “These are people that made a difference.”

SOHS is a nonprofit historical society founded in 1946 with the objective of researching, collecting and honoring the artifacts, historical context and other information and data of the people who’ve lived in Southern Oregon, from the Shasta, Latgawa and Takelma tribes to early pioneers to prominent figures of the 20th century.

“We have one of the largest artifact collections in the state, and it’s just phenomenal what people have donated and done on that,” Corelis said. “I love the idea of preserving the artifacts of the past.”

To learn more about SOHS, visit sohs.org.