The specific and primary mission of the Sierra Historic Sites Association is to preserve, acquire and display artifacts, art objects and other items of significance from Central Sierra foothill history. The Sierra Historic Sites Association operates a museum complex in Oakhurst that is built around two restored and furnished homes dating to the 1870s. Holdings within the Fresno Flats Historical Research Library at the Oakhurst museum complex include a wide collection of journals, early-day photographs, old maps, oral history recordings and books relating to the history of the region. Among the materials available are many old Madera County court documents, local mining claim records, early Sierra National Forest papers, a complete and indexed file of the Sierra Star newspaper, nearly 200 recorded interviews with members of pioneer families, a collection of the Harry Pidgeon early-day lumbering photos, and the past and present Yosemite Valley Master Plans.
