Organizers of a little museum in the Applegate are preparing to fight for their land in court.

The Applegate Valley Historical Society is facing a summons for a civil lawsuit from its neighbor based on an unusual condition in its 30-year-old deed.

The first letter announcing a legal challenge on the .133-acre plot came in 2019, said Barbara Niedermeyer, treasurer and secretary of the society.

“At that time, it was brought to my attention what the deed said,” she said.

The 1992 deed is made out in the names of some of the museum’s founders, Roar and Mary Kjaer and Myrtle Krouse. The deed has a clause that says, “… should the property … no longer be used as a historical site … or should Applegate Valley Historical Society cease to exist, then this grant shall revert and revest in the then-owner of record of Parcel 3.”

Bill Dunlap, who filed the suit for the land, owns a stately white house behind the museum, identified by Niedermeyer as the Pernoll house. The house has two gates, one wired shut and one padlocked shut. No trespassing signs are posted in triplicate around the property.

Dunlap could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Jennifer Nichols, also could not be reached for comment. 

“The neighbor to the south, he owns his lot over here, and the one over there — all around us. And he wants to take this away from us. He said he’s got his rights,” said Maryanna Reynolds, a member of the historical society board.

Dunlap owns the building for the Applegate Country Club, a small building advertising pizza only a few steps from the museum.

Niedermeyer, Steve Decker, vice president of the society’s board, and Alicia Hogan, another board member, said they tried to talk to Dunlap about the matter but were unsuccessful.

“Steven and Alicia and I came down and talked to Bill and he said, ‘This is my property.’ He said that numerous times as we were standing out there,” Niedermeyer said.

Dunlap’s lawsuit argues that because the museum hasn’t kept regular hours for visitors in years, it is no longer a museum, and therefore the deed should revert the property to his ownership.

“There’s no question the historical society continues to exist. Legally, they’re a nonprofit corporation, and they’re paying their dues. But is it being used as a historical site? This is what lawsuits are all about. Some judge or jury has to decide the meaning of certain words in certain documents,” said Jack Davis, the lawyer representing the historical society.

The museum hasn’t had its doors open to visitors in a while, Niedermeyer acknowledged.

“When we were getting money from the county, we were required to be open at least 400 hours per year. Because we were getting some funds, we were able to pay someone to be here for those hours. Then when that dwindled out, we still kept it open. It was just limited hours. But, yeah, we were closed for a few years prior to the COVID thing,” she said.

“We had problems there for a while gettin’ someone to man it,” Decker said.

Board members could not remember when the museum moved from limited hours to being fully closed. Some board members moved away, and some died during those years. But, Niedermeyer said, throughout those years, there were continuous discussions between members about how to open the museum again.

New signs have been ordered to help visitors find the diminutive log structure. Over the past few months, members have been organizing, dusting and cleaning up the artifacts that have been sitting, and they are waiting for visitors. All the artifacts are on loan, Niedermeyer said, from local residents who wanted to share the history of their area.

Both Niedermeyer and Decker’s families have been a part of the Applegate area for over 100 years.

The walls of the single-room log structure hold photographs and license plates. A wall-sized glass curio is filled with artifacts, while a desk on one wall holds books and postcards for visitors. In the corner sits an old cast-iron stove — an artifact from when the Dunlaps were members of the society.

“The thing is the guy that’s suing us was on the historical society board. He was president for a while, and his wife was on the board,” Niedermeyer said.

In a booklet titled “Applegate Valley Historical Society,” written by Krouse in 1995, Dunlap is listed as a board member. According to materials provided by board members, the museum was founded in 1985 during the restoration of the building, while the deed is dated 1992, and the museum opened its doors in 1997.

Niedermeyer and Decker have attempted to return the stove to the Dunlaps, she said, but so far the owners have not come to claim their property.

The museum is now on the list of projects for the history working group of the Greater Applegate Community Development Foundation. During 2019, the foundation held meetings with locals in the Applegate area to create a new vision for the foundation based on what residents of the area hope to see in the future, explained Janis Mohr-Tipton, a board member of the Applegate Historical Society and Greater Applegate.

At the time of the meetings, Niedermeyer said, residents stated they wanted a museum for the history of the area. Because the Applegate Historical Society had been closed, residents were unaware of its existence at the time.

Mohr-Tipton said the history working group envisions the museum possibly becoming a part of a self-guided tour of the area’s history, including the McKee covered bridge and Cantrall Buckley County Park.

“It’s part of our history, that’s why it’s important to us. It’s a generational thing. We’ve had families here for a long time. It has a meaning,” Mohr-Tipton said.

Niedermeyer said they will need help from the public to save the museum.

“Our funds are little to nothing, so that’s why we decided why we needed to let people know,” she said.

The board is hoping to raise $30,000 for legal fees and to continue efforts sprucing up the old building.

The building of the museum itself is one of the oldest log buildings in the valley. It was built without nails from hand-hewn logs, and was the Pernoll General Store in the 1860s. 

When historical enthusiast George McUne was running Pioneer Village — a replica Old West tourist attraction in Jacksonville — the store was dismantled and reassembled in Pioneer Village, Decker said. When Pioneer Village closed in 1985, the old Pernoll store was briefly owned by the Southern Oregon Historical Society, Niedermeyer said.

It was then obtained by a committee of Applegate residents, later forming the Applegate Historical Society, according to museum materials. When the land was donated, the log building was moved back to the Applegate, was renovated, and in 1997 reopened as a museum. 

The legal fight for the land may last a while, Davis said. The court calendar is booked up. It may be a year before a hearing is scheduled.

“We want to save the history and leave this on its home. This is its home, this little plot,” Reynolds said. “We don’t see how we can lose it.”

To donate to the Applegate Valley Historical Society’s legal fight, send a check to AVHS, 3120 Thompson Creek Road, Applegate, OR 97530.