What are the opening hours?

Thursday 11am - 4pm Friday 11am - 4pm Saturday 11am - 4pm Sunday 11am - 4pm

Jefferson County Historical Society

Name: Jefferson County Historical Society
Address: 540 Water Street, Port Townsend, WA, 98368, US
Telephone: +13603851003
Price range: $

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Jefferson County Historical Society

The newly reimagined Museum of Art + History is open through December 31!

JCHS serves residents and visitors across Jefferson County, WA with arts and heritage experiences through programs, exhibitions, research, and more. JCHS Mission: Through collections, research, exhibits, and programs, we bring people together to share, learn, and be inspired by Jefferson County arts and heritage.

08/28/2026

Our Summer Supplies drive ends Sunday, 8/31. Donate this weekend to double your impact + and enter to win a special behind-the-scenes tour of the Port Townsend Foundry for you and up to nine other guests!

Thanks to the generosity of the JCHS Board of Trustees, the next $1,000 donated to our Summer Supplies Drive will be matched dollar for dollar. That means your gift goes twice as far to help us preserve, digitize, and share the 500,000+ artifacts, photographs, and archival materials we hold in public trust.

As a bonus, all Summer Supplies donors this weekend will be entered to win a private tour of the Port Townsend Foundry. Learn how traditional casting techniques continue today while exploring the craftsmanship, history, and industrial heritage behind this remarkable local business.

Learn more and donate at https://donorbox.org/summer-supplies-2026

08/27/2026

Which Rothschild House wallpaper is your favorite?

Remarkably, almost everything you see inside the 1868 Rothschild House is original to the home, including several of the wallpapers. The original gold floral wallpaper seen here would have shimmered beautifully in the glow of oil lamps in the parlor. The brown wallpaper was installed in the 1890s for the wedding of the Rothschilds' daughter, Regina, and has since undergone painstaking conservation by a professional conservator. A few, as you may have guessed, are a bit newer, added by Washington State Parks sometime after the 1950s, when the house became a museum.

This tucked-away gem offers an intimate and immersive glimpse into the life of a local middle-class family across the turn of the last century, and is one of the best-preserved historic house museums in the region. It is located in Uptown Port Townsend at 418 Taylor Street. Come experience it before we close for the season! Open Thursday - Saturday, 11AM - 4PM, through September 12th.

Learn more at jchsmuseum.org/rothschild-house

08/26/2026

Happy International Dog Day from JCHS!

JCHS preserves more than 500,000 artifacts, photographs, and archival materials in public trust, and we are continuously digitizing our collections.

More than 46,000 items (including lots of historic pet photos) are already available online, with 15,000 photographs waiting to be scanned and catalogued. Want to support this work? Consider donating to our Summer Supplies Drive! This year, we aim to raise $10,000 by August 28th to support our digitization efforts. Donate by 8/27 and enter to win a private tour of the Quilcene Historical Museum and the historic Worthington Mansion & Park.

https://donorbox.org/summer-supplies-2026

08/21/2026

We’re in full swing with our Summer Supplies Drive to raise $10,000 to help preserve Jefferson County’s history through digitization!

Right now, about 15,000 historic photographs in our collection still need to be scanned and cataloged. Your support helps us preserve these images and make them more accessible to researchers, history enthusiasts, and curious community members.

Bonus! Donate by Sunday and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a special behind-the-scenes tour at the North Olympic History Center. NOHC Executive Director David Brownell is offering a private tour for up to 10 people, exploring the history of the Olympic Peninsula through unique collections and regional stories. Make a day of it in Port Angeles and discover new perspectives on the people and places that shaped our region!

ALSO - thanks to a generous matching donor, all first-time donations will be doubled, dollar for dollar, until we unlock $2,000.

👉 Donate today: https://donorbox.org/summer-supplies-2026

Your support helps preserve the past and ensure these resources are protected for generations to come.

08/18/2026

We ❤️ Digitizing!

Photographs fade, newspapers become brittle, recordings deteriorate, and some early film negatives can slowly break down beyond recovery. While a digital copy can never replace an original artifact, it can preserve the information it contains and reduce the need to handle fragile materials.

JCHS has 15,000 photographs still waiting to be scanned. Digitizing these photographs now helps ensure the images and their stories remain accessible for the future.

If you’d like to help make this work possible, consider supporting our Summer Supplies Drive! Donate this week and enter to win a special behind-the-scenes collections tour (up to 10 guests) with Ellie, our Director of Research + Collections. Explore artifacts rarely seen by the public and learn how we preserve and care for our collections.

https://donorbox.org/summer-supplies-2026

08/16/2026

Only one week remains to experience Martha Worthley’s exhibition at the JCHS Museum of Art + History!

As the inaugural art exhibition for our newly transformed museum, “More Love” has helped set the tone for this exciting new chapter and has been one of the highlights of our reopening year.

Don't miss your chance to experience this beautiful exhibition before it closes on August 23.

The Museum of Art + History is open Thursday – Sunday 11AM – 4PM (as well as Wednesdays from 4PM – 7PM, through August).

Learn more at https://www.jchsmuseum.org/post/martha-worthley-2026

08/14/2026

How do we make a historic photograph, letter, map, or recording available to someone decades from now?

In this video, JCHS Director of Research + Collections Ellie DiPietro takes us behind the scenes of the digitization work happening at JCHS.

Right now, about 15,000 historic photographs in our collection still need to be scanned and cataloged. Another 30,000 images have already been scanned but need descriptions and other information before they can be searched online.

Our annual Summer Supplies Drive helps make this work possible. This year, we're raising $10,000 to support the specialized supplies, software, equipment, and secure digital storage our collections team relies on to preserve and share Jefferson County history.

Support the Summer Supplies Drive here:
https://donorbox.org/summer-supplies-2026

08/13/2026

Make it a double feature of local art + history!

The Museum of Art + History and the Rothschild House are both open this weekend, and your ticket to one gets you into the other. Thursday-Saturday, 11AM to 4PM.

Visit jchsmuseum.org to learn more about each site.

08/11/2026

Make the most of your summer evening with a visit to the Museum of Art + History!
In August, the museum is open every Wednesday from 4 - 7PM. Whether you're stopping by after work, meeting up with friends, or looking for a relaxed midweek outing with family, Wednesday evenings are a great time to visit.

On exhibit:
• “More Love” by Martha Worthley (through 8/23)
• “Home/Made: Port Townsend’s Community Printshop”
• “Home: The Living History of Place”

Regular Museum hours continue Thursday - Sunday, 11AM - 4PM. We look forward to seeing you!

Address

540 Water Street
Port Townsend, WA
98368

Opening Hours

Thursday	11am - 4pm
Friday	11am - 4pm
Saturday	11am - 4pm
Sunday	11am - 4pm

Telephone

+13603851003

Website

http://www.jchsmuseum.org/

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