Vintage

The History of the Seward Museum by Lee Poleske

 A group of people met July 13, 1962, for an organizational meeting of a Seward historical society and elected the following officers:  President Seely V. Hall, Vice-President Pat Williams, Secretary Mildred Kirkpatrick, Treasurer Rachel Puckett, and Board of Directors Irwin Metcaff, Juanita Everitt and Elizabeth Mahan.

 The group formally incorporated in 1965 as Resurrection Bay Historical Society and soon afterwards began receiving items, including a major donation of Native artifacts, ivory, and baskets from former Seward resident Selma McDonald that had been collected by her late husband A.H. McDonald when he lived in Northwest Alaska.

 The group now needed a place to display and store its ever-growing collection.  Members approached the city that year and worked on a plan to convert the former Lydia (Griffiths) and Al Peel house on the corner of Third and Railway into a museum.  That idea was abandoned when it became evident the remodeling costs would be too high.

Next the city offered space in the City Hall basement and the Seward Museum officially opened there April 29, 1966, as part of an event marking Seward’s All-American City celebration.  Festivities included a parade, band concerts, an open house at the new City Hall and Seward Museum, a dance and crab dinner at the Elks Club, and a Music Trails concert and award ball at the Armory.

 For the next 23 years, the museum operated in the north end of the City Hall basement.  In an effort to brighten up the museum’s somewhat drab basement setting, historical society members in the mid-1970s applied a coat of yellow paint to floors and chose blue paint for the walls.

 When the new Seward Post Office opened in 1985, the city looked into purchasing its previous facility at Third and Jefferson.  The Senior Center wanted a different location and the city needed the City Hall basement for storage space so it looked like a winning proposition all around.  In 1987 the city approved a bond issue to purchase and remodel the old post office, which would open as the Senior Center/Museum/Community Center in 1989.  The city and the two nonprofits groups signed a management agreement stipulating the city would pay for insurance and major repairs while the Museum and Senior Center would pay all other expenses.  The nonprofits pay no rent to the city, and at budget time City Council typically approves donations of several thousand dollars to each organization.

Schoolchildren watch the "Alaska Nellie" Video                       Museum Director Lee Poleske 

 Resurrection Bay Historical Society in 2003 agreed to support and participate in the proposed Community Library Museum building project. 

The Seward Museum got a facelift in the summer of 2007 with new exterior siding and signage.

 The facility is open daily during the summer season and on weekends and by appointment the rest of the year.  The Museum hosts various events including a Founder’s Day program to mark the town’s start on August 28, 1903, and an annual Christmas open house.  Each year a number of students visit the museum as part of a school field trip.