Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1941 as the barracks for a new camp, Building 1381" was originally located on government property four miles south of Waldport, Oregon. That same year, with the advent of World War (( and no need for a CCC camp, the location became known as Angell Civilian Public Service Camp No. 56. In October 1942, conscientious objectors began arriving at the camp, one of 151 camps across the United States.

At the end of the war, many of the buildings were acquired by the US Forest Services and used as storage facilities for the Waldport Ranger District. In 1960, while the district office for the newly formed Alsea Ranger District was being built at Alsea, the Alsea District Forest Ranger used 1381" as his residence.

Angell Job Corps Center was established on site in 1965, and during the next twenty-three years, the building was used as a barracks and resource center.

The building was donated to the City of Waldport in 1985, moved to the present site in 1988 and leased to the Alsi Historical and Genealogical Society. During the next ten years the building was completely remodeled as a museum by the society, much of the labor donated by the Angell Job Corps students. On January 4, 1997, the Waldport Heritage Museum opened to the public.