History Collection

REFLECTING THE RICHNESS and diversity of Pacific Northwest history from post-settlement to the present day, the Whatcom Museum's History Collection ranges from everyday domestic items to the tools and equipment vital to the agricultural, timber and fishing industries so prominent in the development of the Northwest. Permanent history exhibitions and related hands-on displays are utilized by the museum’s education department as part of the Washington State Essential Learning Standards for elementary school students. Items from the History Collection are also included in many temporary exhibitions at the Museum and are cared for and preserved as tangible evidence of the past. The Photo Archives and Ethnology Collections are also considered components of the Musuem's History Collection.

THE ETHNOLOGY COLLECTION focuses on the material culture of the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. While the Museum considers the focus of its History Collections to be relegated to a narrow geographic area, the Ethnology Collections are based more upon tribal populations and the inevitable production, trade, and use of objects by the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest. The collection therefore, is comprised of objects from tribes and groups that live west of the Rocky Mountains from northern California to Alaska. Special importance is placed on material from the Salish because of their history and long term relationship as the first people to this region.

PERMANENT HISTORY EXHIBITIONS ON VIEW IN OLD CITY HALL
Woodworking Tools: 1880-1910
Representative of the tools a finish carpenter or cabinet maker might have used as he plied his trade at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, including planes, chisels and frame saws, this exhibit includes examples of projects and carpentry uses for the tools.

The Children's Hour
The museum’s diverse toy collection is permanently displayed. The 1890-1930 vintage collections are categorized by dolls and paper dolls, toy furniture, games, puzzles, wooden toys, and more.

Restored E. Howard Tower Clock
The late-19th-century, working tower clock of Old City Hall is visible for visitor inspection including gears, pendulum, weights, and connectors to the clock faces and bell in the museum tower.

PERMANENT HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY EXHIBITIONS ON VIEW IN THE SYRE EDUCATION CENTER
Edson-Edson-Booth Bird Collection
Birds of prey and birds of the salt water are featured with large photo-murals. Over 500 more mounted birds are on view as open storage for visual identification. The collection includes many birds seen in the Northwest United States, including

First Nations - Northwest Coast and Inuit
The museum’s collection of Native American artifacts includes good examples of the use of natural materials to enhance the quality of native life, including baskets, bent-wood boxes, masks, canoe, fishing gear, Salish and Chilkat blankets, mats, hats, and other tools and accessories. A video on contemporary Lummi basketweaver Anna Jefferson adds a first-person voice to the interpretation.

Native Basket Open Storage Area
Nearly 350 Native American baskets from the Northwest Coast region, British Columbia, Alaska, and the western United States are included.

Nooksack Valley Settlement Cabin and Tools
The interior of a settlement cabin, ca. 1890-1910, includes period furniture, tools, accessories, and clothing. Other hand tools of this do-it-yourself era are included.

This was Logging
Tools from the period of hand logging and animal skidding are interpreted through photo-murals by photographer Darius Kinsey and four miniature dioramas describing logging and transportation in the woods from the 1880s to the present.

Victorian Bellingham, ca. 1890-1910
Bedroom and parlor from a Bellingham home of the period include furniture, clothing, and accessories of the time.