Pacific County Historical Society Museum

I’m always taken aback when someone tells me they’ve never been to the Pacific County Historical Society Museum in South Bend.  Especially if the ‘someone’ purports to be a history buff!  Admittedly, these are usually people who live in “South County” – aka on the Long Beach Peninsula.  And, certainly, the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco is closer at hand.  But still…

The PCHS is older by thirty or so years and was begun ‘back in the day’ (as they say) when the sons and daughters of Pacific County’s pioneers were the main movers and shakers in the area. They had a wealth of history at their fingertips – letters, memoirs, documents, photographs and artifacts that held answers to many of the questions about our early history.  In 1949, they decided to create an organization to encourage interest in our County’s history and to establish a repository for some of its treasures.  The Pacific County Historical Society (PCHS) was formed and the museum soon followed.

Inside the PCHS Gift Shop

Of course, it’s a long way around the bay and, gradually, as the Peninsula has become more populated and the County has established satellite offices on ‘this side of the bay,’ our focus has fractured.   I find that even serious students of local history are not always familiar with the little museum and treasure trove on Robert Bush Drive (aka Highway 101, the main drag) in South Bend.

Published June 13, 2016

So… if you are one of those who’s been thinking, “I really should pay a visit to the PCHS museum,” now’s your chance!  Next Wednesday, July 6^th at 3:30, I’ll be doing a book talk there and I would love it if my audience included folks who have seldom, if ever, been to the PCHS museum.  I promise to give you the ‘inside scoop’ on some of the County’s most infamous bad guys,  as well as a look a few of the amazing tactics used by those who pledged to keep law and order here in the rip-roaring days of the 1880s and ‘90s.

And, of course, the super-duper bookshop at the Museum will have Jailhouse Stories of Early Pacific County for sale.  I’ll be happy to sign and personalize as many copies as you’d care to get!  The book is guaranteed to be the perfect gift for all your far-away friends who can’t quite imagine that there’s much here beyond beach sand and winter storms…