2022 MUSEUM DINNER REAFFIRMED OUR COMMITMENT TO PRESERVING CITY’S HISTORY
It’s been a long struggle to establish a history museum in Pinole. We continue to look for a venue while the Pinole City Council debates renovating the historic Faria House. While we had hoped we’d be open by now, we’re resolute in seeing our mission to fruition.
Many of the 2022 dinner attendees — there were 169 paid tickets — have donated to the museum and have supported our advocacy before the city council. They see the value in preserving our past history and making a lasting record of our present history.
THANK YOU FOR VALUING CULTURE AND HISTORY!
While a permanent home for the Pinole History Museum is still forthcoming, our approach is focused on public outreach — working with schools, the community, and local businesses to promote interest and excitement for the preservation of our historical past.
Until we get a home, The Pinole History Museum (PHM) and Pinole Historical Society (PHS) will continue to preserve our city’s history.
— We are preparing mini-exhibits that will be installed in several Pinole businesses. These exhibits will include photographs and memorabilia on founding families, the early ranchos, downtown, then and now, and the history of street names. The first exhibit, about the Ellerhorst family, was installed at Mechanics Bank on March 7, 2023.
— We did two projects with students from Pinole Valley High School: One that explored the recent history of minority business owners, and the other an oral history project where a student sought to learn the history of her family members in Pinole. Both of these may be found on the Pinole Historical Society YouTube Channel, along with nearly 40 other videos covering Pinole’s history.
— The PHS continues to publish its newsletter, Newsbriefs, supported by local advertisers who share the society's mission to "enhance the preservation and collection of artifacts that represent Pinole history and culture and to educate and inspire Pinole residents’ community affiliation and civic pride.”
— The PHS and PHM Facebook pages regularly publish information about the history of our city. This information is shared on half a dozen other local and area Facebook pages.
— The PHS continues its yearly history essay contest in Pinole schools. This year, as we commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1823 El Pinole Grant to Lt. Ygnacio Martinez that eventually established the city of Pinole, we have asked students to write about the significance of this land grant and others in the Bay Area.
— The PHS produces its annual Veterans Day Memorial and Flag Retirement Ceremony. This year’s event will be held Saturday, November 11, at 11 a.m. in Fernandez Park.
— The PHM continues to add photos to its Collections Management System database on CatalogIt, a cloud-based online service. Metadata has been added to more than 500 historical photos that have been uploaded to CatalogIt and are available to the public to view at: https://hub.catalogit.app/157.
— The PHS has a booth at the Pinole Farmers Market from April through December, where residents of Pinole and neighboring communities can share their stories, get information about the city's history, and purchase one of the many local and area history books we sell.
Imagine what we could accomplish if we had a home!
Be sure to check back regularly for news updates about what’s going on at the Pinole History Museum.
