Bone up on Harbor history — it’s free for the rest of 2020

A grant from the City of Gig Harbor will allow complimentary admission to the Harbor History Museum to continue for all general public visitors through 2020, the museum has announced.

The grant of $30,000 allows the museum to continue its “Access for All” initiative that provides access to local history exhibits to everyone, residents and visitors alike, said museum director Stephanie Lile.

Program fees still apply, with reduced rates for members.

Since the museum’s partnership with the city began in 2018, she said, visits from residents and tourists have nearly doubled — from 5,000 to more than 10,000 in 2019.

“We love that we have been able to open our doors to all; no matter what their income level,” said Lile. “Our community is full of amazing stories that we are eager to share with new and life-time residents as well as tourists from all over the world.”

Over the past two years, visitors to the Museum have come from as far away as New Zealand and South Africa, Lile said.

The two largest objects in the collection, the 1893 Midway Schoolhouse and the 65-foot fishing vessel Shenandoah, continue to attract visitors. Grants from the McEachern Foundation and Gig Harbor Rotary enabled significant preservation work on the National Historic Register-listed schoolhouse last year, Lile said. Work on the Shenandoah is being funded by the Washington State Heritage Capital Project Fund along with some 150 individual donors.

Founded in 1964 as the Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society, the museum opened its new facility in 2010. It includes 7,000 square feet of exhibition space and a 900-square foot library, research and meeting room.

Winters hours of the Harbor History Museum are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 12:00 AM.