Member Museums  

Situated within the ancestral territory of the suq̀ʷabš, “People of Clear Salt Water” (Suquamish People), the Bainbridge History Museum proudly serves the residents and visitors of Bainbridge Island. It is located in the historic Island Center Schoolhouse, a one-room schoolhouse first built in 1908. In order to fulfill its mission of preserving and sharing the stories of Bainbridge Island, the Bainbridge History Museum offers exhibit galleries and public programming to teach and celebrate the many stories of the island and its people. In addition, the museum offers access to its collections through its social media and its online collections portal.

WaMA reached out to the Bainbridge History Museum and invited its team to share the museum’s story in their own words.

About the Organization

Give us a short introduction to your organization. What do you want people to know about you?

The Bainbridge History Museum proudly serves the residents and visitors of Bainbridge Island. We preserve and share the stories of the island’s past to help promote a greater understanding of our community, spark curiosity, and inspire everyone who walks through our doors. Proving that small communities create big history, we celebrate Bainbridge Island’s unique heritage and evolution.

What makes your museum or organization unique?

As the only history museum on the island, we act both as ambassadors to visitors and as preservationists for residents. Becoming the connecting point between generations of people and the land, we help to place stories and memories within the island’s and the region’s broader context. Best of all, we strive every day to show everyone that history is fun!

Who do you serve, and what role do you play in your community?

We serve everyone who lives on, visits, or is interested in the history of Bainbridge Island. In-person, we invite people into our galleries and share countless stories with everyone from tourists to longtime residents. Online, we offer access to an ever-increasing amount of our collections through both social media and our online collections portal – working to share our holdings with researchers and islanders alike. Beyond that, we are a preservation organization, maintaining our collections and their stories for future generations of Bainbridge Islanders and visitors. Celebrating our island’s past, present, and future, we preserve, document, and share the stories that make us who we are today.

Exciting Things Happening

What’s something your organization is especially excited about right now?

Our online collections portal has made it possible for people to start their research journey or walk down memory lane from anywhere in the world. For the first time in our organization’s history, we are able to proactively connect people to families, organizations, individuals, and places through our database – providing more access than ever before to Bainbridge Island’s fascinating and unique history.

Do you have a new exhibit, project, partnership, program, renovation, acquisition, or initiative you’d like to share?

We are excited to be embarking on a capital campaign and expansion program to help us better serve our community. From adding galleries to building a multipurpose space that can be accessed by community groups, our expansion is community minded and a wonderful next step for the Museum!

Community and Impact

How does your organization connect with or support your community?

Through a number of community partnerships and collaborations, we work to help residents and organizations to document and preserve their history. From advising special interest groups on how to preserve their own records to collaborating on exhibits with other non-profits and organizations, we enjoy having close friends and fellow history buffs all over the island.

What impact do you hope your work has on Washington communities?

We hope that our work helps other communities to see the value in their stories. Too often people think that daily life isn’t interesting enough for history when we know that it is the everyday events and actions that create history itself. We are always thrilled to see local history museums shine and be recognized for celebrating the communities that we preserve and love!

Why WaMA?

Have you participated in a WaMA conference, program, advocacy effort, training, or networking opportunity that was especially meaningful?

Our team has participated in several WaMA conferences and always look forward to attending. They are a great opportunity to network and forge new partnerships and collaborations.

What would you tell another organization that’s considering joining WMA?

WaMA is a great organization and we have enjoyed making connections and learning alongside so many fantastic museum professionals across the state!

Fun/Personal Questions

What’s one object, exhibit item, or story in your collection you love talking about?

Most people don’t realize that our collection goes back thousands of years! We have our very own mammoth tooth that was found here on Bainbridge Island by a couple of local teenagers. Turned over to their teacher, the mammoth tooth ended up being studied by experts in Seattle and is estimated to be 10,000 years old.

What’s bringing your team joy right now?

We have received so many donations from local families and community organizations lately and we couldn’t be happier or more grateful to be trusted with their heirlooms and family legacies. From building partnerships with organizations to connecting people with their history, these donations help us to capture more of Bainbridge Island’s history all while highlighting the important roles played by everyone who has shaped our island along the way.

Experience the Bainbridge History Museum

In Person

215 Ericksen Avenue NE, Bainbridge Island, WA

Open daily, 10am-4pm

Free admission

Virtually

Website: https://www.bainbridgehistorymuseum.org/

Facebook and Instagram: @bainbridgehistorymuseum

Online Collections Portal: https://bainbridgehistorymuseum.pastperfectonline.com/