Collections

While less than 1% of items in our collection may be on display at our museum and historic houses, we store and care for the roughly 500,000 items housed in our collection in perpetuity. This community resource represents decades of contributions from countless people, and we continue to add to it to deepen and expand the stories we can share about the people, places, and events of our region.

Collections are foundational to the immersive museum experiences we all love, like exhibitions and programs. They are also consulted and accessed in other ways, both online and in-person. Below are some of the ways you can access and contribute to our ever-growing collection of archives, large artifacts, furniture, artwork, textiles, tools, equipment, and photographs.

Access Our Collection

Online Collection

While the items in our collection are physically accessible only at our Research Center in Port Townsend, many of our photographic images, archival descriptions, and catalog records can be found online!
Browse Our Collection
Can’t find something you’re looking for online? Let us know at collections@jchsmuseum.com.

Order Photos

If you find a photo or document in our collection that you’d like as a digital reproduction or scan, complete our online order form and our collections team will follow up with you about fees and delivery.
Order Photos

Fees for reproductions will vary depending on the use and information you provide us, but you can use this fee structure for an estimate

Object Donations

Part of JCHS’s mission of bringing people together to share, learn, and be inspired by Jefferson County arts and heritage is fulfilled through collections. For this aspect of our work, we accept items like artifacts, objects, photographs, and archival donations on a case-by-case basis.

Our collection has expanded significantly over the years, and we are constantly refining it, most recently with a focus on identifying missing and misrepresented communities and experiences to broaden the stories we can share about our region. Donating an item can be a fantastic way to help ensure our museum experience includes and centers diverse stories.

If you’d like to donate an item to JCHS, download and complete a temporary gift agreement form.

Donate an Item

You can email your completed form to us at collections@jchsmuseum.com or mail it to:

Jefferson County Historical Society
540 Water Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368

Give our team up to six months after receiving your completed form to evaluate whether the item is appropriate for our collection. Once we have had time to assess the item, we will follow up using the contact information you provide!