| Established as the Peninsula Historical Society in 1963, the Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society (GHPHS) began operating a museum in 1973 and was awarded 501(c)(3) status by the IRS in 1976. | |
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The Society has inhabited five different locations, with each move being precipitated by the landlord's changing needs, or the Society's growth. In 1974, Ken Hore gifted an office/storage site to the Society in the Empire Building on Harborview. |
| Mayor Ruth Bogue awarded a basement area to the Society in the new town hall on Judson Street in 1977. | |
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In 1979, the Society moved to the Austin-Erickson style log cabin building at 4114 Harborview (once the headquarters of the Amateur Garden Club). But by 1981, storage and display of donated artifacts dictated the need for a much larger space. |
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The Society then moved to the basement of St. Nicholas Catholic Church. In 1998, the museum moved to its next location at 4218 Harborview Drive where it operated a museum for 10 years. |
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In January 2009, the museum moved into its new building located on the waterfront at 4121 Harborview Drive. The Society also began formally doing business as Harbor History Museum at this time. |
