Hours of Operation
Open Daily: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Closed: New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day
Call Us: (800) 991-2338
(509) 427-8211
Questions?: email us
Address Information
Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum
990 SW Rock Creek Drive
P.O. Box 396
Stevenson, WA 98648
Driving Directions
About Don Brown
- Chapter 1: Brief History of the Rosary
- Chapter 2: About Don Brown
- Chapter 3: A One-of-a-Kind Spiritual Collection Finds a Home
- Chapter 4: About the Rosaries
The unique Don Brown Rosary Collection is the result of one man's lifelong devotion to sacred art. Mr. Brown was born April 27, 1895 in Tualatin, Oregon and died in a tragic traffic accident in Eugene, Oregon on December 14, 1975 at the age of 80. Most of his adult life was spent in North Bonneville, Washington near Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River where he managed family-owned property known as the Brown Tract. It was there he built his rosary collection into international fame.
In an article which appeared in The Skamania County Pioneer just prior to his death, Mr. Brown wrote: "Perhaps the common question asked by visitors to my rosary chapel in North Bonneville is how I ever happened to originate such an unusual collection? Its beginning was in 1917 when I was living in The Dalles, Oregon but my interest in this beautiful devotion came about years before during a confinement in the Mercy Hospital in North Bend, Oregon with a severe attack of pneumonia, my younger years beset with poor health.
It was here that I saw the rosary being worn on the habits of the Sisters of Mercy. While my love for sacred art seems to have been born with me, the rosary has always held a special fascination for me. I consider my former years of illness a special blessing since the rosary was the beginning of the faith of my adoption."
Mr. Brown began collecting rosaries while living in The Dalles, Oregon and continued after moving to North Bonneville in 1920. He embraced the Catholic faith in 1929 and was baptized at the St. Thomas Catholic Church in Camas, Washington. He became a Dominican Brother in the order founded by St. Dominic. As a layman, his name was Donald but he chose the religious name of Dominic after his patron saint.
Although English was his only language, Mr. Brown carried on an extensive correspondence with individuals of similar interest throughout the world. A Spanish-American friend in Los Angeles translated his Spanish letters; a friend in St. Paul, Minnesota translated his German letters, and another friend translated his French letters, and so on. Language was never a barrier.
As his collection became known throughout the Catholic world many rare and beautiful rosaries arrived unsolicited at his modest home. He provided an excellent example to all collectors by establishing a numbering system and meticulously maintaining a catalog. He carefully noted the donor, place of origin, type of material used, and the description of the church, shrine or historical incident with which it was identified. He did error in not always indicating the date of the gift and the exact measurements. A permanent number was then attached to the rosary for easy reference. In August 1973, it was designated by Ripley's Believe It Or Not as the world's largest collection of its kind.
A volunteer is busy in-putting the catalog information into a computer. The goal is to have the entire catalog system eventually available in book form. Watch for that announcement in future news releases and on this web site. It is no small task!
Mr. Brown as also known for his dedication to preserving the history of Skamania County. In 1926, he and his father were instrumental in founding the Skamania County Historical Society. His goal was for the history to be preserved in a museum, and in 1973 this was achieved. He donated his rosary collection to Skamania County with the requirement it be displayed for the public, creating the need and justification for a museum.
