Local resident Jeff Smith has been collecting Native American artifacts in northern and western Clark County since he was young and has gained a huge interest in the history of the artifacts.
He has also built his collection by buying other collector’s local finds. Smith said he enjoys sharing his collection with others, and he has donated to local museums, shared them at schools and even has invited groups to come see his private museum to learn more about the history of the area’s Native American tribes from the mostly Stone Age times.
On Saturday, Nov. 18, Smith displayed numerous artifacts from his private museum to the North Clark Historical Museum in Amboy and talked to people about the history of ancient tribal life in the area.
“When I was little, I lived in Ridgefield, and my great-grandmother and grandfather ran a ranch at the mouth of Salmon Creek, and it was called the Henry Ranch, and my grandmother picked up Indian arrowheads, bows and artifacts,” Smith said.
He said his grandmother would take him hunting for arrowheads with her.
“And the last time I hunted with her, I was 18 and she was in her 80s. We still found a bunch, and so she kind of gave me the juice to go in that direction.”
After developing his interest in Native American artifacts from his grandmother, Smith began buying other collections in 1982, he recalled.
“Then it became more to me that I wanted to learn more about the artifacts,” Smith said. “So, I spent a lot of time learning about the artifacts, age, point-typing, stuff like that, but even still, I wanted to learn more about history. And the history has always been probably the best thing out of all this collecting that I’ve done.”
Smith calls sharing the history and what he has learned is his way of giving back. He has even received compliments from some Native members because they appreciate that he shares their history.
Small parts of Smith’s collection are housed at the North Clark Historical Museum in Amboy as well as the La Center Historical Museum. Both museums regularly feature Native artifacts. According to a 2015 Reflector article, Smith’s collection has interested historians, archaeologists and researchers of Chinook and other local Native American artwork and culture.
One thing Smith takes pride in is his collection is “clean.”
“My whole collection always was legally obtained, and that was the biggest thing for me, that I wasn’t one of the pot-holers or diggers that went out and pillaged,” Smith said. “I took lots of old Oregon Archaeological Society members who had passed away and bought their collections and turned them into mine is basically what it was for all the years.”
Smith’s collection focuses on western and northern Clark County including artifacts from Western Klickitat and Chinook tribes, he said.
Smith continues to add Native American artifacts for his collection and conducts tours of his private museum for select groups. Smith can be contacted by calling 360-263-6326
