Bainbridge Island History - Bainbridge Island Historical Museum

Experience

Current Exhibits

An Island Story

For a small island, Bainbridge has big stories to share. The Japanese American Exclusion in WWII, the most productive sawmill in the world, the mosquito fleet that served 30 small communities, the teen music scene, and the invention of Pickleball are some of the things you are bound to uncover.

Suquamish Tribe

Since time immemorial, Bainbridge Island and Agate Passage have been part of the Suquamish people’s homeland. It is here—past, present, and future—that the Suquamish people live and celebrate the natural bounty of the land including fish, cedar, roots, berries, deer and shellfish.

Early Exploration

Bainbridge Island history - Map of Oregon Territory Map of the Oregon Territory, Wilkes Expedition 1841

The first non-native people arrived on Bainbridge Island in May 1792. English Captain George Vancouver came seeking efficient trade routes, looking for a water route through North America. In 1841 the United States Exploring Expedition led by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes arrived in the area on a global surveying voyage. By mapping Bainbridge as an island, they corrected Vancouver’s map of Bainbridge as a peninsula.

Logging

Bainbridge Island history - Vaughn Drag Saw Vaughn Drag Saw, Zenhichi Harui and friends, Island Center, ca. 1940

Bainbridge Island history - Second Mill at Port Blakely Second Mill at Port Blakely, 1888 – 1907

Bainbridge Island history - Pacifric Creosote Company Retorts Retorts for Creosoting Logs Pacific Creosote Company, Bill Point, ca. early 1900’s

Immigrants came to the Puget Sound during the mid-1800s and saw seemingly unlimited economic potential. “Endless” forests were ripe for harvesting and profit, and mill employment spurred growth and more immigration. Homes, churches, schools and commerce blossomed with workers and their families, creating a global feel that still remains a part of Bainbridge Island culture.

transportaton

Transportation

Bainbridge Island history - Sailing Ships in Eagle Harbor Sailing Ships in Eagle Harbor

Bainbridge Island history - Ferry Hyak Ferry Hyak

Ferry Kalakala

Before the bridge was built in 1951, Bainbridge Island was accessible only by water. For centuries, Suquamish people used canoes for transportation. As the population grew, sailing ships provided access to U.S. and international markets. The “mosquito fleet” consisted of smaller passenger and ferry boats that brought freight, workers, seasonal residents, and visitors to the island. Today the ferry from Seattle is appropriately iconic, symbolizing everything it means to be an island.

Modal link for Shipbuildiing - Ship under construction

shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

Bainbridge Island history - Marine Railway at Hall Brothers Shipyard Marine Railway at Hall Brothers Shipyard, Winslow 1903

Bainbridge Island - Ship under construction on Port Madison beach Ship under construction on Port Madison beach

Bainbridge Island history - Hall Brothers Shipyard, Port Blakely Hall Brothers Shipyard, Port Blakely

Growing mill operations required transportation of products to market. Using readily available, high quality lumber, the shipbuilding industry grew. This provided businesses with access to both domestic and international markets. Today, many of the roads, and even the town of Winslow, bear the names of shipbuilders, a tribute to the significance of the industry.

agriculture

Agriculture

Bainbridge Island history - Strawberry Farms Strawberry Farms

Bainbridge Island history - Koura Strawberry Farm Koura Strawberry Farm

Bainbridge Island history - Strawberry Cannery Strawberry Cannery

From subsistence farming to small farms that fed a growing number of workers and their families, the story of agriculture on Bainbridge is also the story of the island economy and the people who helped it thrive. Bainbridge Island continues to support berry, vegetable, and dairy farms today.

wartime

Wartime

Bainbridge Island history - Fort Ward Radio School Fort Ward Radio school

Bainbridge Island history - Barrage Balloons, 1942 Barrage Balloons, 1942

Bainbridge Island history - Winslow Shipyard Workers Winslow Shipyard Workers

In 1941, the Bainbridge Island community reacted to President Roosevelt’s call for wartime support. The U.S. Navy radio station, named Station S, was a secret operation on Bainbridge Island that intercepted and recorded Japanese diplomatic messages sent in Japanese Morse code. The stories of Islanders who became part of the war effort provide a close-up of this sad and spirited time.

japanese american exclusion

Japanese American Exclusion

Bainbridge Island history - Nakamura Family Leaving Home Nakamura Family Leaving Home

Bainbridge Island history - Arrival of Ferry Kehloken Arrival of the ferry Kehloken

Bainbridge Island history - Kitamoto Family Kitamoto Family

After Pearl Harbor, the perceived threat led to the evacuation and incarceration of persons of Japanese descent, including U.S. citizens. Bainbridge Island was the first West Coast community impacted by this decision. On March 29, 1942, two hundred twenty-seven Japanese American Islanders were sent to Manzanar Relocation Center. The Japanese American Exclusion is a story of the suspension of civil liberties and citizen resistance told through personal experience.

Her Vote. Her Story.

Ratified 100 years ago, the 19^th Amendment to the U.S. constitution restored women’s legal right to vote. Many women—and men—organized, protested, penned pamphlets, endured prison, and braved hunger strikes in support of women’s suffrage. For many years, the 19^th Amendment mostly benefited middle and upper class, white women. Additional laws and amendments were needed to assure equal voting rights and access for all women and men.

Her Vote. Her Story.

Bainbridge Island history - Merilee Mostov video 1

Merilee Mostov, curator, takes you inside the show.

Bainbridge Island history - Millennium Quilt

Millennium Quilt, 2000

Bainbridge Island history - Voting Machine

Model Voting Machine

2016 Voting Percentages

Maxine Johnson, 1966