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current exhibits

Putting People to Work: The WPA in Washington. Join us for this, our first exhibit in our newly renovated gallery space! Franklin D. Roosevelt helped create a Democratic tidal wave that swept across Washington and the nation in 1932 during the depths of the Great Depression. He promised Americans a "New Deal." After Roosevelt took office in March, 1933, each day brought dramatic new developments and agencies, including the Works Progress Administration, or WPA.

The New Deal in Washington took many forms, some as awesome as the Grand Coulee Dam, frequently described as "the biggest thing on earth." The common thread running through many New Deal programs was jobs for the unemployed. Unemployed artists, laborers and researchers  were  all put back to work in their communities leaving behind a legacy of roads, bridges, murals and parks. Maria Pascualy, curator at the  Washington State Historical Society, selected 30 photographic images from representative projects across the state and paired them with an essay by historian Carlos Schwantes. The  Washington State Historical Society is a repository for the WPA Washington State photographic collection, the WPA Washington State Federal Writers Project manuscript Collection and the WPA king County Emergency Relief  Administration Photographic Collection. This exhibit is from the Traveling Exhibit Service of the Washington State Historical Society.

Reflections of Change: Memories of Mount St. Helens. Commemorating the 30 th anniversary of the Mount St. Helens eruption that forever changed Clark County 's skyline… Sometimes life can change in a single instant. On May 18, 1980 , Mount St. Helens erupted with a level of violence that few had expected. Join us for an exhibit featuring personal accounts of those who lived, worked, and played in the shadow of the ice-cream-cone shaped mountain that will never be the same. Each of these accounts is a valuable piece of the story as a whole and together they give a more complete and personal look at the effects a natural disaster can have on the landscape.

CCHM is located in Vancouver’s 1909 Carnegie Library. Regular museum hours are: Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is charged. The museum also is open free from 5 to 9 p.m. the first Thursday of the month, between February and November, for First Thursday Museum After Hours. A wheelchair accessible entrance to the museum is located on the east side of the museum building on 16th street.

Clark County Historical Museum, 1511 Main St., Vancouver, (360) 993-5679
www.cchmuseum.org

 

For more information contact the Clark County Historical Museum at (360) 993-5679 or visit: www.cchmuseum.org.

 

CLARK COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM INFORMATION: The Clark County Historical Museum is housed in Vancouver’s 1909 Carnegie Library which is located at 1511 Main St. Vancouver, WA 98660. Regular museum hours are: Tuesday – Saturday 11-4 PM. Admission rates apply. The museum is also open first Thursday evenings from 5-9 PM for Museum After Hours.  A wheelchair accessible entrance to the museum is located on the east side of the museum building accessed from 16th street.

Woven History: Native American Basketry
December 2, 2004 - Ongoing

On December 2, 2004 we celebrated the release of our 98 page, full color Woven History: Native American Basketry publication and the opening of our exhibit by the same name. The publication and the exhibit showcase the amazing baskets in our museum collection.

Woven History, the publication was made possible by a generous grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust and also a very generous donation of time and labor by the book’s editor and authors. "What the community needs to understand is that this phenomenal collection of baskets belongs to them," stated museum director Susan Tissot. "We hold the museum collection in public trust for the people of Clark County. The book is a tribute to the history and resources of Clark County." In 2005 Woven History was awarded the Washington Museums Association Excellence in Publications Award. Woven History, the exhibit was sponsored by a grant from the National Park Service, the Colf Family Foundation, the Kelso Sales Barn and the Anderson Glass Company. Due to popular demand, the exhibit run dates have been extended until further notice. Contact the museum for more information.

Related Resources

 

We have a mystery for you to solve but to do it you must get involved. Look around town and you will see the answers to our mystery. A successfully solved puzzle will earn you a FREE softbound copy of Naming Clark County. To claim your prize, return your completed solutions to our Architectural Scavenger Huntto the Clark County Historical Museum.

Stop by the Museum for your scavenger hunt form or click here for the small grayscale scavenger hunt form (744KB))

Click here for the large colored scavenger hunt form (1MB)