November 8, 2-4pm, Madison Elementary School gym Mark your calendar for this free community event. We will learn about the history of the Legion Way trees from historian Jennifer Crooks, enjoy a performance by the American Legion Band, plant trees to fill in gaps in the memorial, dedicate the Olympia Armory interpretive marker, and share…
Visit the Bigelow House for a special event commemorating women’s voting rights. The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was certified in August 1920 empowering most women nationally to vote. However, 2025 marks the 115th Anniversary of women’s permanent voting rights in Washington. The Bigelow House is on the National Votes for Women Trail—recognized for…
The Bigelow House Museum is now open all Sundays for tours at 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00 pm. In honor of Women’s History Month, March tours will feature information about the significance of the house in women’s history—highlighting members of the Bigelow family as well as the connections of the house to women’s suffrage as a…
February 20, 2025. 6 – 8 p.m. Abigail Stuart House 1002 Washington St SE, Olympia, WA 98501 Free. Light refreshments will be provided. RSVP here. Join us for an evening of civic dialogue about the Simmons Party historic monument, erected in 1916 near Tumwater Falls about a party of pioneers claiming to be the first American…
The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum hosts former WA Secretary of State Sam Reed and author John C. Hughes in this conversation about Reed’s three-terms as Washington’s Secretary of State. Reed will be joined by Hughes as author of the recently published biography titled “Mr. Mainstream: Sam Reed’s Half Century of Public Service and…
The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum is participating in the Community Foundation of Puget Sound’s Give Local 2024 which begins November 11, 2024 and continues through November 22, 2024. We invite you to participate by donating here. link is: https://www.spsgives.org/organization/Bigelow-House-Preservation-Association Anyone can participate in Give Local, and most do so through meaningful gifts…
The Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum is sponsoring the Holiday Tour of Historic Home on Sunday, December 8, 2024 from noon to 4:00 pm featuring six historic properties including the Bigelow House at 918 Glass Avenue NE. The 2024 event highlights outstanding examples of residential architecture representing important eras in the city’s history. …
Welcome! to the 2024 Holiday Tour of Historic Homes The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum (hereinafter OHS & BHM) is delighted to welcome you to the 2024 Annual Holiday Tour of Historic Homes. While suspended for four years due to the pandemic, OHS & BHM is once again hosting this beloved South Sound…
Featuring five homes in the South Capitol Neighborhood Historic District. Open house at the Bigelow House Museum
Be sure to save Thursday evening September 26th to hear Nicholas Vann give this fascinating talk on Chinese Exclusion and Resilience in the Built Environment. Former Washington Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer and Historic Architect, Nick will share his personal and professional journey in discovering and preserving the architectural expression of late 19th and 20th…
The Olympia Arts & Heritage Alliance (AHA) is creating a new exhibit with a professional curator called Faces of Olympia, to display in the 48 windows on the east façade of the 108 State Avenue building (old City Hall and Fire Station) in downtown Olympia. We are seeking photos and images of people to illustrate…
The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum (OHS & BHM) seeks to hire a part-time staff person to coordinate and manage implementation of the society’s expanded tour, education, and outreach activities being funded by the City’s Inspire Olympia grant program. The focus of this one-year part-time position is to manage and coordinate essential aspects of the BHM’s…
Visitors to the Bigelow House Museum can enjoy “The Bigelow House in Style” through August. The house is open for guided tours at 1, 2, and 3 pm on the first two Sundays of the month with an admission fee. Special tours can also be arranged by emailing olyhistory@gmail.com. Vintage women’s clothing is being…
Download the clue sheet here to redeem for a special prize on the first and second Sundays of the month from 1 to 4 pm during open tour hours or enjoy the hunt anytime!
Olympia Arts + Heritage Alliance (AHA) in partnership with the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum and City of Olympia are sponsoring a presentation and discussion about the compelling story of Charles Mitchell. A 13-year-old boy, Mitchell escaped enslavement in Olympia in 1860 by traveling by steamer from Olympia to Victoria, B. C. via…
The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum (OHS & BHM) hosted their 2024 Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, January 27th at the Olympia Center. At the top of the agenda was a program commemorating the 170th anniversary of the meeting of Washington’s First Territorial Legislature in February, 1854. OHS & BHM Board Members recited…
Come join us on Saturday, January 27, 2024 for the OHS & BHM Annual Meeting. The meeting begins at 1:00 pm. This year, our program commemorates the 170th anniversary of the first meeting of the Washington Territorial Legislature in 1854. A highlight of the meeting will be our program featuring historic accounts of life in…
The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum invites the community to a Holiday Open House at the Bigelow House Museum at 918 Glass Avenue NE in Olympia on Sunday, December 10, 2023 from 1 to 4 pm. $5.00 suggested donation. Visitors will enjoy holiday decor, learn about this Olympia treasure as well as savoring a holiday treat. One of Olympia’s oldest…
The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum is participating this year in the Community Foundation of Puget Sound’s Give Local 2023 which begins November 6, 2023 and continues through November 17, 2023. We invite you to participate by donating here (live link). https://spsgives.org/o/community-foundation-of-south-puget-sound/i/give-local-2023/s/olympia-historical-society-bigelow-house-museum-ohs-bhm-ktdskazyx Thanks to the $100,000 Give Local Bonus Fund, seeded by the…
The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum will award a $2000 history grant along with a $500 teacher stipend in 2024, provided by funds from long-time Thurston County Teacher Roger Easton. Eligible applicants are K-12 teachers, student teachers, administrators, or classroom professionals in accredited schools in Thurston County. The successful applicant will use grant…
Join OHS & BHM Board Member Paul Parker for a tour of the Bigelow Neighorhood beginning at 11:00 am on Saturday, August 26, 2023 at the Bigelow House. The 45-minute tour involves significant walking. The Bigelow House is also hosting an Equality Day Commemoration on August 26, 2023 beginning at 11:30 am at the Bigelow…
Join OHS & BHM Board Member Paul Parker for a tour of the Bigelow Neighborhood beginning at 11:00 am on Saturday, August 26, 2023 at the Bigelow House. The 45-minute tour involves significant walking. Tour goers will return to the Bigelow House to enjoy a celebration of Equality Day—August 26, 1920 was the day that…
The updated and revitalized Bigelow House Museum will open for visitors starting June 4, 2023 on the first two Sundays of every month at 1, 2, and 3 pm. All tours will be limited to 10 people each and visitors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Admission is $5.00 for adults; $4.00 for…
The Olympia Historical Society-Bigelow House Museum (OHS & BHM) invites all to enjoy a program by longtime KGY radio host and South Sound personality icon Dick Pust. He will present his program on Thursday evening, June 29th at 6:30 pm at the Harbor House on Percival Landing. Pust will share his memories, stories, and photographs, drawing…
Whodunit? The Olympia Historical Society-Bigelow House Museum (OHS-BHM) is seeking help to solve a 50 year-old local mystery of who pranked radio station KGY during the early morning hours of June 5, 1973?
Brothers Joseph and H.R. Jeffers founded a photography business in 1904, at the southeast corner of Washington Street and 5th Avenue. Their original studio is shown in this 1908 photo (it was replaced by the current Jeffers Building at the same location). Joe Jeffers and friends pose in front of the studio as they return…
Jill was born and raised in Aberdeen, Washington and graduated from Weatherwax High School (the historic building that burned down in 2002). She graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in Economics, and followed up with an MBA from Indiana University. Jill’s professional career began at Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem, PA as its first…
Vickie was born in Olympia, the first child of the fourth generation of her family to live in Thurston County. She attended Garfield Elementary, Jefferson and Washington middle schools, and graduated from Olympia High School in 1973. In her senior year she was the Olympia Bear—the first female to serve as the mascot. She is…
This page is part of a collaboration between the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum and the Thurston County Courts History Committee. Text developed by Thurston County Courts History Committee; story map created by Brian Hovis and Deb Ross Historic Courthouse Locations in Thurston County, Washington This story map describes the history of courthouses…