The Small-Town Museum Experience

I'm currently visiting my parents in Seattle with my boyfriend for Spring Break.  Although we've been avoiding the rain as much as possible, we decided to take the ferry to Poulsbo today, which is a quaint Scandinavian town across the Puget Sound.  I apparently fell asleep on the way back and when I woke up, we were in Port Gamble, another small town.  There are only about ten buildings that make up Port Gamble, which was built to imitate a similar town on the East Coast.  To my surprise, the General Store had a small museum on the second floor.  I normally would have moved straight past it to the coffee stand, but decided to take another look- thanks to this class!  

The history of Port Gamble

Things I noticed:

• I wasn't fully sure of what the museum was showcasing, but it soon became obvious when most of the display looked like the one below:

• There were lots of signs instructing patrons to not touch the displays...clearly been a problem in the past.

• I originally thought that all the artifacts were unique to Port Gamble, but then I saw some bugs from the Philippines...hmm...
• A small donation box sat near the entrance of the museum section.
• While the displays were largely underwhelming, the view from the second floor was fantastic!  

Overall, my experience in the Port Gamble Museum was short, lasting little more than 10 minutes.  It was, though, very interesting to see the attempt of a small community to showcase artifacts.  If you're ever in Washington state, I'd highly recommend taking the ferry out of Downtown Seattle.  (Sidenote- I forgot to take a picture, but I noticed QR codes that highlighted attractions at each ferry stop!)  I'm really enjoying my time relaxing with family, but am looking forward to some warm weather soon.  

Just for fun- a map of Port Gamble!

Happy Spring Break!