As the collection continued to grow members soon realized that the preservation and interpretation of Clackamas County’s history required a modern museum building with trained staff. During the 1970s the Latourette family donated the land at the intersection of Second Street and Tumwater in Oregon City for the purposes of public enrichment, and later the site was selected for the new building. In 1985, construction began on the new museum space and September 8, 1989 CCHS opened the End of the Trail Heritage Center, which underwent several name changes before settling on Museum of the Oregon Territory (MOOT) in 1999.