Harbor History Museum

Harbor History Museum The Harbor History Museum inspires curiosity about local history and cultural traditions. The museum has a resource room and gift shop.

The museum provides visitors with a journey through the history of the Gig Harbor Peninsula. The museum contains: permanent exhibit galleries, a Special Exhibitions Gallery with 4-5 changing exhibits each year, a restored 1893 one-room schoolhouse, a 65-foot purse seine fishing vessel, and the first Thunderbird sailboat ever built. A dedicated collections storage area provides safe and secure permanent storage for the museum's permanent collection.

✨Special Presentation✨Threads of Tradition: Croatian Folk Costumes with John Morovich.Join us for this special presentat...
06/03/2026

✨Special Presentation✨

Threads of Tradition:
Croatian Folk Costumes with John Morovich.

Join us for this special presentation exploring how Croatian folk costumes reflect history, foreign influences, and regional diversity.

This lecture will highlight the artistry and craftsmanship behind embroidery, weaving, beading, and leather working, placing each technique within its broader cultural and historical context.

🗓️June 11, 2026
🕥6:30pm
📍Harbor history museum
💰$5. (Free for Museum members.)
📧RSVP to [email protected]

June events at HHM! ⚓️
05/26/2026

June events at HHM! ⚓️

Visit us on Gig Fest weekend for a car and boat show! 🗓️June 6, 2026🕥9am - 1pm 📍Harbor History Museum parking lot In par...
05/26/2026

Visit us on Gig Fest weekend for a car and boat show!

🗓️June 6, 2026
🕥9am - 1pm
📍Harbor History Museum parking lot

In partnership with the Gig Harbor Cruisers car club!

🛶Own a piece of history!🛶The Harbor History Museum is offering a rare Willits canoe for sale to the highest bidder!Built...
05/15/2026

🛶Own a piece of history!🛶

The Harbor History Museum is offering a rare Willits canoe for sale to the highest bidder!

Built between 1924–1926 and traced to one of 13 canoes originally purchased by Lake Sawyer Resort near Black Diamond, this beautifully crafted cedar canoe is a remarkable example of Pacific Northwest history.

All offers of $3,000 or more will be considered.

Come visit the museum to see the boat in person!

For details or to submit an offer, contact [email protected]

Women’s underwear has long reflected society’s views on modesty, femininity, and beauty. From historic styles that restr...
05/12/2026

Women’s underwear has long reflected society’s views on modesty, femininity, and beauty. From historic styles that restricted the female form to the more liberating fashions of today, women’s undergarments have been symbols of both oppression and empowerment.

In this talk, Diane Johnston explores how comfort, freedom, and function in women’s undergarments mirrored broader social changes.

She asks why there were so many people throughout history who had their panties in a bunch over the drawers in women’s drawers, and pulls back the layers of satin and silk to see how the evolution of women’s underwear parallels our ongoing struggle for gender equality.

🗓️May 21, 2026
🕥6:30pm
📍Harbor History Museum
💰FREE!! But please rsvp to [email protected]

Thank you to for providing fantastic speakers!

Commemorate the 185th anniversary of Gig Harbor’s discovery, first identified on May 15, 1841 by a survey gig from the U...
05/05/2026

Commemorate the 185th anniversary of Gig Harbor’s discovery, first identified on May 15, 1841 by a survey gig from the U.S.S. Porpoise.

In this presentation, local historian, Doug McDonnell, will explore the details of the event that gave our city its name!

Museum shipwright, Riley Hall, will share insights into the Porpoise’s recent restoration, which will be on display for attendees to view and appreciate.

🗓️May 14, 2026
🕥6:30pm
📍Harbor History Museum
💰$5 cover charge. Members get in free!!

✨Please RSVP by sending an email to: [email protected]
Please include: your name, how many people are attending, and if you are a museum member or not.

Thank you, Gig Harbor Fire, for the AED class for museum staff! We’re so grateful for the First Responders that serve ou...
04/28/2026

Thank you, Gig Harbor Fire, for the AED class for museum staff! We’re so grateful for the First Responders that serve our community!

The Harbor History Museum is proud to partner with Greater Tacoma Community Foundation and St. John’s Episcopal Church t...
04/28/2026

The Harbor History Museum is proud to partner with Greater Tacoma Community Foundation and St. John’s Episcopal Church to offer this legacy giving workshop.

The Age of Impact - Join Doug Page and Steve Saalfeld from Greater Tacoma Community Foundation to learn how you can maximize your gift to heirs, and the causes you care about, now and for generations to come.

📍Harbor History Museum
🕥May 6, 2026 @ 3pm
💰This event is free, but registration is required.

Please send an email to [email protected] to reserve your spot.

✨Save the Date!✨The documentary Makers on the Tide, which tells the story of the Willits brothers and their renowned can...
04/22/2026

✨Save the Date!✨

The documentary Makers on the Tide, which tells the story of the Willits brothers and their renowned canoe craftsmanship, will be screened at the Harbor History Museum.

📍Harbor History Museum
🕥May 2, 2026 at 5pm
💰There is a $10 cover charge for this event (members are free!)
🛶RSVP is required. Please email [email protected]

Join us this Thursday, April 23 at 6:30pm for Beyond Treaties: Native Stories of Survival and Strength. Explore Native r...
04/21/2026

Join us this Thursday, April 23 at 6:30pm for Beyond Treaties: Native Stories of Survival and Strength.

Explore Native resilience through the personal journey of John Halliday (Coyote), a Muckleshoot artist, speaker, and former tribal leader.

Blending drumming, flute music, painting, and lived history, he shares how Native communities have survived beyond the signing of treaties. Audiences will gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous history, strength, and creativity.

📍Harbor History Museum
🕥 6:30pm

This is a free public event. RSVP’s are strongly encouraged. Send an email to: [email protected]

Address

4121 Harborview Drive
Gig Harbor, WA
98332

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 4pm
Thursday 11am - 4pm
Friday 11am - 4pm
Saturday 11am - 4pm

Telephone

+1 253-858-6722

Website

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