In the summer of 1992 I did an internship at the Muir and McDonald tannery in Dallas, Oregon, where I started cataloging their museum artifacts. While there I became familiar with the traditional vegetable tanning process and aware of the fact that since the 1940's this method for processing leather has slowly been replaced by faster tanning processes, such as Chrome tanning. With the diminishing use of the vegetable tanning process in the United States, a pioneer industry is vanishing. The tanning of leather through the use of traditional tanning methods was a very important process early in American history, and the knowledge of it should be preserved as a symbol of American independence. Before traditional tanning methods are lost they need to be recorded for future reference. The objective of this paper is to present a brief history of the tanning processes, document traditional vegetable tanning methods, identify tanneries in the United States still using the traditional tanning processes, and provide reference information for future research. I will also describe the development of a museum at the Muir and McDonald tannery in Dallas, Oregon.