NEWBERG, Ore. — The Newberg Area Historical Society has ceased operations, its two remaining board members say, ending a yearslong effort to recruit new volunteers that ultimately came up empty.
Anna Danese and Britta Mansfield, who served as the NAHS’s secretary and president, respectively, said they spent roughly two years reaching out to potential volunteers through public appeals and personal connections — contacting George Fox University, Newberg City Hall, the Newberg Public Library, and Newberg-Dundee Public Schools, among others — before concluding the organization could not continue.
“We are concluding Newberg isn’t interested in volunteering for this effort,” Danese said in an email to Newsberg.
Oregon Secretary of State records show the NAHS was administratively dissolved on Jan. 15, 2026. Danese and Mansfield said they consider June 3, 2026, the date the organization formally concluded its remaining business. The NAHS’s website is no longer active but may reactivate to direct visitors to other historical resources, Danese said.
The society will donate its remaining financial assets and historical collection to the Newberg Public Library. Danese said she and Mansfield have been in discussions with library staff about how the funds can best support local history collections there.
“The Newberg Public Library looks forward to offering more local history programming, and I would love to hear what the community is interested in,” said Newberg Public Library Director Korie Jones Buerkle.
The NAHS was incorporated as a domestic nonprofit corporation on Nov. 19, 2019, according to state records. According to Danese and Mansfield, the historical society has taken different shapes over the years. The current iteration was initially founded by George Edmonston, author of the “Tales from the Grubby End” historical column and subsequent collection of works, and operated under the umbrella of the Newberg Downtown Coalition.
Under the leadership of Rachel Thomas in 2019, the group became its own 501(c)(3) organization under the name Newberg Area Historical Society. During Thomas’s tenure, the group held a regular lecture series, offered walking tours, developed a historical signage program, and participated in community events.
The remaining board members say momentum stalled in 2021, when multiple board members stepped down. Danese and Mansfield spent the following years working to keep the organization afloat and recruit new members but were unable to fill the void.
Despite their efforts, the two said they determined that a formal dissolution was the best path forward, with an expressed hope that a future iteration of a local historical society might someday emerge.
Newberg-area history will remain accessible through several organizations. In addition to the Newberg Public Library, resources include the Hoover-Minthorn House Museum, the George Fox University Archives, and the Yamhill County Historical Society.
