Public History
HRA practices public history—informative histories outside the traditional classroom setting. Our historians and interpretive specialists are dedicated to documenting, interpreting, and sharing history in the most accurate, inclusive, and meaningful ways. HRA collaborates with clients and project partners, assisting them in executing their visions to sensitively tell important stories.
Exhibition Development
Developing interactive content often includes permanent, temporary, traveling, and digital exhibitions. We work with museums, historical sites, non-profit organizations, government entities, corporations, and communities to develop inclusive experiences, including multilingual text, visuals, tactile elements, and sensory components, for a range of educational backgrounds and cognitive abilities. We believe the role of interpretive content is to spark interest in any visitor.
Our Experts Include: Jimmy Grant, Ela Miljkovic, Libby Provost, and Morgen Young.
Bosque Redondo Memorial
As part of a broader reconciliation effort between the State of New Mexico and two Tribal nations, HRA was brought in to reinterpret the Fort Sumner Historic Site as inclusively and accurately as possible. Working closely with New Mexico State staff, as well as representatives from the Navajo Nation Museum and the Mescalero Apache Tribe Tribal Historic Preservation Office, HRA completed an interpretive plan for the site, then curated a permanent 7,000-square-foot exhibition for the Bosque Redondo Memorial and oversaw a team to design, develop, and install the exhibition.
We are the Rose City! A History of Soccer in Portland
HRA curated a 3,000-square-foot exhibition for the Oregon Historical Society focused on professional soccer in Oregon, from the founding of the Portland Timbers in 1975 to the present day success of the Timbers and Thorns. HRA was responsible for all content development and installation, collaborating with a design firm on the project. This was a true community effort, with support from the Timbers Army, Rose City Riveters, 107 Independent Supporters Trust, and many others devoted to the sport in Oregon.
Institutional Histories
Our institutional, administrative, and corporate histories typically involve research in agency or corporate records, oral histories with key leaders and project partners, the preparation of compelling narratives that are accessible to lay readers, and visually compelling photos and maps. We also produce video documentaries, museum exhibitions, interpretive signage, websites, and supplemental publications. By helping managers, staff, and project partners understand their past, corporations and government agencies can better evaluate and develop policy, formulate strategic plans, and direct change.
Our Experts Include: Amalia Baldwin, Jimmy Grant, Emily Greenwald, Ela Miljkovic, Emily Noonan, and Morgen Young.
Alloway Electric Company’s 100th Anniversary
HRA created a commemorative illustrated booklet for Alloway Electric Company’s 100th anniversary. Our approach included on-site exploration of company documents and material objects, as well as external research in newspapers, genealogical records, city directories, and oral histories with current and former owners and long-time electricians. The resulting booklet, Alloway Electric: Illuminating Idaho Since 1924, celebrates the company’s legacy, key projects, and the people who built it.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, History of Locks and Dams
From 1929 to 2018, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built more than fifty dams on the Ohio River, using wood “wickets,” raised and lowered to assist river navigation for commercial towboats and barges. Operating these dams was dangerous work for the dam tenders, who lived on site with their families. Over time, the Corps replaced all but two of the wicket dams with more modern structures, but our history of these installations proudly honors the people who lived, worked and sacrificed there.
Interpretive Planning
History is complicated and inspiring. Our interpretive planning services support the stewards of history as they navigate the complexities of the past. Sharing relevant and impactful stories with their audiences, HRA works with site managers, project partners, and community representatives to develop plan that guide visitor experiences at all levels, including programming, media development, education, and outreach.
Our Experts Include: Morgen Young and Jimmy Grant.
Missoula Downtown Heritage Interpretive Plan
On behalf of the Downtown Missoula Partnership, HRA lead a team of community partners to prepare a heritage plan for Downtown Missoula. As part of the interpretive planning process, HRA facilitated interpretive planning sessions with a core planning team and hosted a public open house to solicit input on the key elements o Downtown Missoula’s heritage. HRA also developed online questionnaires, hosted information tables at Missoula community events, and conducted personal interviews with more than a dozen subject matter experts and community leaders. The interpretive plan presents a vision for a visitor experience framework to guide all aspects of heritage interpretation in Downtown Missoula.
Braddock’s Battlefield History Center Interpretive Plan
HRA prepared an interpretive master plan for Braddock’s Battlefield History Center (BBHC) in North Braddock, Pennsylvania. The BBHC is a museum and historic site located on the site of the Battle of the Monongahela, a vanguard battle of the French and Indian War. Interpretive planning involved subject matter research, facilitating an interpretive planning workshop, hosting an open house, soliciting public comments through an online survey, and conducting a series of interviews with subject matter experts and project partners, including Tribal Historic Preservation Officers from more than a dozen federally recognized Tribes.
Oral History
We collect oral histories during the research phase and create and manage ongoing oral history programs for clients like the National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Oregon Health & Science University. Our range of services includes the capture of audio and video oral histories, as well as producing films to further share these stories and memories.
Our Experts Include: Amalia Baldwin, Jimmy Grant, Emily Greenwald, Ela Miljkovic, Libby Provost, and Morgen Young.
Oregon State Capitol Foundation Oral History
Managing the Oregon State Capitol Foundation’s oral history project since 2023, HRA captures and shares the perspectives of influential Oregonians, including governors, state officials, legislators, and others contributing to the state’s government. Our experienced staff coordinates production, researches the subjects, and conducts recorded interviews with each participant.
Camp Nelson National Monument
Camp Nelson, a Union supply depot and hospital in Kentucky, was one of the largest recruitment and training centers for Black soldiers and a refugee camp for their wives and children. Through interviews with the National Park Service, local elected officials, partner organizations, and descendants of the families, HRA created an oral history to memorialize the park and its 2018 designation as a national monument.
Indigenous Affairs
Since the company’s founding, HRA has worked closely with sovereign Tribal nations and Indigenous communities. We successfully complete projects on behalf of Tribes that include natural resource management histories, historical legal studies, Cultural Resources Management reports, historic context studies, interpretive plans, and museum exhibitions.
Our Experts Include: Amalia Baldwin, Jimmy Grant, Emily Greenwald, Libby Provost, and Morgen Young.
Nisqually Valley Tribal Heritage Sites
HRA prepared historic studies for three culturally significant sites within the Nisqually Valley. Archival records and accompanying narratives about each location were all delivered in a fully illustrated bound manuscript titled, Nisqually Valley Tribal Heritage Sites, Volume 1. Referencing a bibliography of published scholars related to the Tribe, HRA created this essential site registry for their homeland.
Montana Native American Boarding School Investigation
St. Labre Indian School Education Association hired HRA to investigate a history of past student deaths at three of their schools and whether any unmarked or unrecorded burials exist on school grounds. HRA led this multidisciplinary investigation by visiting record repositories in Montana and throughout the United States, participating in community listening sessions on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations, and completing a remote sensing survey on school grounds.