Films & Visual Stories
Original historical films, mini- documentaries, interviews, location stories, event films, and visual features including our Legends of Oregon work.
Create · Storytelling · Public History
Stories, Media & Public History
We use film, photography, audio, archives, social media, and original storytelling to turn local history into something people can see, hear, remember, and pass on.
We don't create media just to promote events. We create it to document a community.
01 · CREATIVE PUBLIC HISTORY
More than social media.
Our media work is part preservation, part interpretation, and part storytelling. We use modern creative tools to make local history accessible to people who may never open an archive box or pick up a history book.
History does not have to sit quietly
in an archive.
Creative public history means meeting people where they are. Sometimes that means a documentary film. Sometimes it is a historic photograph restored and shared online. Sometimes it is a podcast, an interview, a one-minute video, or a story recorded in the place where it actually happened.
The medium changes. The purpose does not: preserve the story, understand what it means, and return it to the community in a form people can connect with.
The Mining Vault
Long-form audio storytelling exploring people, places, events, memories, and stories connected to Cottage Grove and the Bohemia country.
Historic Photography
Digitization, restoration, research, context, and presentation of historic photographs so fragile community memories can reach new audiences.
Interviews & Memory
Conversations, recollections, oral history, and firsthand perspectives that preserve information which may never have been written down.
Community Documentation
Photography and video documenting festivals, programs, demonstrations, community events, traditions, and the people making local history today.
Social-First History
Short videos, archival posts, photo stories, historical discoveries, and accessible storytelling built for the places people already spend their time.
Public history only works if the public sees it.
Digital storytelling lets a photograph, memory, historic site, or forgotten name travel far beyond a museum wall. It also gives people an easy way to contribute what they know, correct the record, share memories, and help us discover the next story.
2.67M
Facebook views generated through SBMD's
2026 outreach and storytelling work.
03 · THE MINING VAULT
Stories you can listen to.
The Mining Vault gives us room to slow down. Longer conversations, deeper context, local voices, forgotten stories, and subjects that deserve more than a sixty-second video.
Open the vault.
Our podcast is part of the same public history mission as our films and photography: preserve information while the people, memories, and sources are still here to tell the story.
Latest Episode
Episode 13 - Order, Chaos & Cottage Grove
Cottage Grove City Council President Greg Ervin joins Matthew Hewlett to talk small-town momentum, practical leadership, and why historic places matter. They detour into coin collecting as…
Latest Episode
Episode 12 - Lore, Faith, and Side-Quests
Matthew sits down with Alex Plantz to talk all things D&D—from his early campaigns to how tabletop storytelling shaped his life. We dive into spirituality and Christianity, wrestle with…
Latest Episode
Episode 11 - Festival Recap & The History of the Bohemia Mining District
In this solo episode, host Matthew Hewlett takes listeners inside the heart of Spirit of Bohemia Mining Days 2025. From record-breaking vendor numbers and immersive heritage costumes to…
04 · FOLLOW THE WORK
Different channels. One archive in motion.
Each platform gives us a different way to tell a story. Follow wherever you spend your time — the work is designed to travel.
FB
Community updates, photo archives, event coverage, local-history stories, and major announcements.
Open Facebook →
IG
Photography, reels, visual storytelling, archival images, and behind-the-scenes work.
Open Instagram →
TT
TikTok
Short-form public history, quick stories from the field, archival discoveries, and community history.
Open TikTok →
YT
YouTube
Films, interviews, historical features, event documentaries, and longer-form visual storytelling.
Open YouTube →
SP
Spotify
The Mining Vault podcast and longer-form audio stories exploring people, places, and local history.
Open Spotify →The archive is still being made.
Today's photographs, interviews, films, programs, and community stories become tomorrow's historical record. Our job is to make sure they are preserved — and to make them worth discovering now.