Historic Holiday Tour

Welcome The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum is delighted to welcome you to the 2024 Annual Holiday Historic Home Tour! While suspended for four years due to the pandemic, OHS & BHM is once again hosting this beloved South Sound holiday tradition. This year, we are proud to feature five significant historic homes…

WE’RE HIRING!

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…

Charles Mitchell’s Flight to Freedom

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…

OHS & BHM Annual Meeting January 27, 2024

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…

Holiday Open House on 12/10

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…

SUPPORT THE OHS & BHM THROUGH THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION’S GIVE LOCAL 2023 FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

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…

Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum Seeks Applicants for the Roger Easton History Grant

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…

Summer Event–August 26, 2023

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…

Summer Tour Event–August 26, 2023

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…

Daniel Bigelow

Bigelow House Museum Now Open for Tours

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…

Jill Rosenkrantz

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 MacMillan

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…