Harbor History Museum

Purpose: Supporting Lifelong Learning The Midway School in Gig Harbor represents an important step in the history of local and rural education throughout the region. Completed in 1893, it was the fourth one-room schoolhouse on the peninsula. It served the community until its closing in 1941 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. In keeping with the historical Society's mission and the goals set out in its strategic plan, this project will result in the creation of a permanent exhibit focused on the history of local education in the Gig Harbor area. The exhibit will be located in the 34' x 20' Midway School, the only nineteenth-century schoolhouse on the Gig Harbor Peninsula that has not been adapted for other uses. The school will be moved to the future site of the Gig Harbor Heritage Center, and the Midway Schoolhouse exhibit will be a faithful recreation of a pioneer-era schoolhouse. To bring it to life, several hands-on activities will be developed, along with a video containing oral histories of students who attended the school. A curriculum will be developed to support extensive use of the facility by regional schools as a learning laboratory for local history.