The museum, part of the city park system, was established in a home built in 1900 on what was then known as the Harlow Farm, by Fred E Harlow, son of Captain John Harlow, Troutdale's founder. Originally a sea captain from Maine, the elder Harlow was a Portland businessman who came to the Sandy River to establish a country farm. He named his place Troutdale because of the fish ponds he built near the cliff.
Fred Harlow and his family lived in the home until about 1915. The second occupants were another of Capt. Harlow's sons and his wife. Both served as mayor of Troutdale.
The knoll on which the house stands kept it above the 1948 flood.
Household goods from the early 1900s fill the 2-story house. At the Harlow House a replica of a local 1923 barn, the Barn Museum, houses an exhibit on smelt and the Sandy River, as well as a timeline of Troutdale's history. The house is on the National Regsiser of Historic Places. The grounds are part of the city park system.
Summer hours, Wed-Sat, 10-4; Sun, 1-4
Many Historic Houses have been preserved throughout Oregon.