The Oregon Military Museum located at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas County announced Saturday it would close “due to circumstances” – the same day that troops from the California National Guard arrived at the base.
Though Gov. Tina Kotek requested the Oregon and California guards demobilize and return home Tuesday, the museum’s website and social media stated the museum will remain closed through January.
A reporter stands Camp Withycombe on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025 in Happy Valley, Ore. The camp serves as headquarters for several Oregon Army National Guard military units.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
“Due to circumstances at Camp Withycombe, the Oregon Military Museum is temporarily closed to the public,” the museum website reads. “Starting in January 2026, we will re-open the exhibit galleries and library, as well as provide public programs, tours, events and other activities.”
The same message was posted on the museum’s social media accounts Saturday. Just two days earlier, the same account encouraged children to partake in a new exhibit scavenger hunt at the museum.
Asked about the extended closure, and whether it’s related to the guard’s stay at Camp Withycombe, the museum’s head of programs and services deferred to the Oregon Military Department.
The Oregon Military Department owns Camp Withycombe, and operates it as an active military training site for the state’s National Guard.
Military vehicles are seen at Camp Withycombe in Happy Valley, Ore. on Sunday, Oct. 5.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
“We are unable to discuss the National Guard troop deployment in Portland,” Leslie Reed, a spokesperson for the department, said. Reed also directed questions about federalized troops to the U.S. Department of War, the Trump administration’s rebranding of the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Defense Department declined to share details and directed questions to U.S. Northern Command, which did not immediately return a request for comment, leaving it unclear if the closure is related to an extended stay by out-of-state guard members.
The Oregon Military Museum reopened just three months ago after a 16-year closure, making a monthslong closure notable. The museum had a fall fundraising event planned for Oct. 17 before the closure was announced.
According to Kotek, 200 members of the California Guard arrived over the weekend in Oregon after a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to federalize and deploy 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to protect the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland from regular protests.
On Sunday, the day after her initial ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut issued a second temporary restraining order, which broadened her prohibition on troops deploying to Portland to include guard members from other states.
President Trump and his team have inaccurately characterized Portland as a burning war zone. The administration has sought to crack down on protests at the ICE building, which have regularly drawn small groups of people.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth District will soon weigh in on the matter after the administration challenged Immergut’s ruling.
