The Shaw Island Museum is a community-led museum, offering year-round exhibits and programs that explore the social, cultural, and natural history of Shaw Island and the surrounding region.
We invite visitors to reflect on Shaw Island’s history, imagine past and future island days, and celebrate this place we call home.
Admission is free and hours are as follows:
Tuesday: 2 pm – 4 pm
Thursday: 11 am – 1 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 12 pm & 2 pm – 4 pm
The Shaw Museum celebrates the season with its fall exhibit, The Shaw Island Telephone Company, opening October 18, 2025, and running through May 25, 2026. Step back in time and discover what it took to make a call over a century ago — short rings, long rings, and a whole lot of ingenuity. Ring! Ring!
Our collection includes artifacts that tell the stories of island families, from everyday household objects to tools used in the early days of fishing and farming.
Our collection continues to expand through donations and acquisitions.
This collection of maps and photos invites you on a journey through time. Beyond simple geography, these images tell the stories of history, exploration, and perspective. Explore how our island has been charted, imagined, and remembered by those who came before us.
A trip through time on Shaw. We are digitizing Errett Graham’s 30 diaries from 1940 to 1971 so you can enjoy them online. The Graham diaries delve into life on Shaw during this time period; his daily entries chronicle a growing island community.
Please help us preserve these and other historic diaries by making a tax-deductible donation. These diaries are being professionally digitized due to their fragile nature, at a cost of $300 per volume. All proceeds go directly to this project. These diaries provide a unique perspective on Shaw Island’s past.
An ongoing oral history project of the Historical Society dedicated to capturing and preserving the living memories of Shaw Island. Through recorded interviews with long-time islanders, we gather firsthand accounts that bring our island’s history to life—stories that can’t be found in documents or photographs alone.
The Bay View Cemetery was established in 1923 when E.B. and Dorcas Fowler generously donated 1 acre of land to create a community cemetery, something that islanders had long felt was needed. When Martha Huggett Shaw died prematurely of ptomaine poisoning at age 44, this triggered action by Shaw residents. Our island’s small cemetery, located in the middle of the island, tells the story of generations of islanders.
Discover more by searching online.
Shaw Island Virtual Settler Memorials is a tribute to island settlers created by Island Roots.
The Shaw Library and Historical Society was organized in 1966 by a group of islanders who felt that shelves for books in the store or a private home were no longer adequate, and that a “real” library was needed, also including space to house historical items and artifacts.
The site was founded by Zora Gross the following year and purchased by Zora, Malcolm, and Margaret Cameron. Mr. Cameron, an architect, donated his services to draw up the plans.
Zora Gross donated logs from a cabin she had previously purchased from Neil McLaughlin. This cabin came from a property near Post Office Bay (known originally as Maple Bay) on the southwest side of the island and was part of the homestead of Bert Tift, who served as Shaw Island’s first postmaster.
In the summer of 1969, Bob Leidig of Lopez Island was hired to build the log cabin that would become the historical museum. A year later, Henry Hoffman, helped by his uncle, Loyal Hoffman, was hired to complete the cabin and build the library. It was formally opened on August 22, 1970, as one of the few private libraries in Washington state.
2346 Blind Bay Rd
Shaw Island, WA 98286
Tuesday: 2 pm – 4 pm
Thursday: 11 am – 1 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 12 pm & 2 pm – 4 pm
Free.
Donations welcome.
Step-free entry.
Contact us for accommodations.
Your generosity keeps these exhibits free and accessible. Thank you for helping preserve Shaw’s history.
Your generosity keeps these exhibits free and accessible. Thank you for helping preserve Shaw’s history.
