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Farm closer to museum status Senate panel OKs living-history designation for Jacksonville site By PETER WONG SALEM -- Hanley Farm, nearly 150 years old, would become a "living history" museum open to the public under legislation that cleared a Senate committee Thursday. The 37-acre site, northeast of Jacksonville, is run by the Southern Oregon Historical Society. Visitors must arrange tours in advance, and each group is limited to about half a dozen. The farm was established in 1857. Senate Bill 580, which the Senate Water and Land Use Committee sent to the full Senate on a 4-0 vote, would allow living-history museums on farmland. But they can be sponsored only by governments or nonprofit organizations such as historical societies. "The use we are proposing may actually be a better economic use, which can be utilized for the preservation of both resources without the demise of either resource," said Margaret Watson, the society's curator for Hanley Farm. "But there is protection for the farm resources written into the proposed amendment." Reeve Hennion of Jacksonville, a trustee of the society, said the society has a plan to open the farm to school children, residents and visitors. "But without your help, we cannot implement it because of current legal restrictions," he said. State law allows a living-history museum in Washington County, but it has not been built. Ron Eber, a specialist for the state Department of Land Conservation and Development, said it may be possible to establish Hanley Farm as a living-history museum without special legislation. But it would require Jackson County to go through a complex process of exempting it from the state requirement for protection of farmland. The land-use watchdog group 1000 Friends of Oregon also raised concerns about the bill, though not with the project. "Our concern with this bill is not with this particular living-history museum that is being proposed, but with creating a statute that applies statewide and could have unintended consequences elsewhere," said Randy Tucker, who spoke for the group. "We do not want to be the grinches saying you should not have a living-history museum that promotes agriculture. It's more a matter of how we go about it." Chairman Veral Tarno, R-Coquille, said he too was concerned about adding to the long list of nonfarm uses that state law allows on land zoned for exclusive farm use. But he said he felt Senate Bill 580 was written narrowly enough so that there is no flood of applications. Brad Linder, the society's executive director, said the society wants to generate income from a living-history museum to help pay for maintaining the farm. But he said farmable land would continue to be farmed, and improvements would be placed on less productive land. The bill's sponsor is Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland. The bill was endorsed by the State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon Tourism Commission and Oregon Heritage Commission. "The bill provides safeguards against unrelated commercialization of farmlands," said Julie Curtis, manager of the heritage commission and assistant director of the tourism commission. "Nobody in the heritage or tourism communities wants Oregon to lose the agricultural heritage and values we all hold dear." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA