The Oracle Historical Society, Inc. was founded in 1977 as a non-profit 501(c)3 educational organization.

The mission of the organization is to preserve historical artifacts and properties; to educate, to encourage awareness and appreciation of the unique cultural-historical heritage of the community of Oracle and surrounding areas; and to promote alliances that enhance the Society's ability to influence the future by honoring the past.

To these ends, the first and largest project to date has been the purchase and restoration of the Acadia Ranch building, which in 1984 was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.

The first issue of The Oracle Historian was published by the Society in 1978 and served as an educational venue and the newsletter for a growing membership.

The Society also led preservation efforts in the community thanks to a 1979 grant from the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office. Through this an Oracle Historical Resource Survey was initiated.

In 1992 over 250 photos dating back to the early 1900’s were preserved in archival form and made accessible to the public at the Acadia Ranch Museum, which is open Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. For other times, please call 520.896.9609.

Today there are two active major restoration and preservation projects being undertaken by the Oracle Historical Society. The first is the cleaning and cataloguing of a series of paintings capturing cowboy life painted by Lee Kannally and, second, plans for updating the American Flag Ranch into an accessible resource for the community and visiting guests.

As you might guess, all of these great achievements, past and future, take personal effort and time from the Board and the Society's membership as well as grants and generous tax-deductible contributions.