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 residences, the house was built by 1860 and features authentic period decor and furnishings which tell the story of the long residence of the Bigelow Family in Olympia. Email olyhistory@gmail.com for more information.

Ed Westman – 9/29/24
Looking Back’s theme for 2024 is Many Streams, celebrating our rich history. Scandinavians began arriving in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1800s, with many working in logging, lumber, and construction industries. In 1921, Swedish-born Ed Westman, pictured here, founded the Olympia Veneer Company, which was a revolutionary experiment in cooperative ownership as well as…
September 29, 2024
Olympia Junk – 9/22/24
Looking Back’s theme for 2024 is Many Streams, celebrating our rich history. The Olympia Junk Company, located at the corner of Legion Way and Columbia, was founded in about 1906 by Jewish entrepreneur Morris Berkowitz, who is likely in this 1914 photograph. It was later purchased by Morris’s in-laws, the Bean family, and became Olympia…
September 22, 2024
Slocum and Yowaluch – 9/15/24
Looking Back’s theme for 2024 is Many Streams, celebrating our rich and diverse history. In about 1881, Squaxin tribal member John Slocum and Louis Yowaluch, pictured here, and their families, co-founded the Indian Shaker church near Mud Bay. The denomination eventually spread to include dozens of churches throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Indian Shaker church…
September 15, 2024