Half Moon Bay History Association
We bring together all members of the community to preserve, celebrate, and share the history of the San Mateo Coastside.
Our new Coastside History Museum opened in June 2023. The museum features new exhibits, older exhibits from the Jail museum, and additional artifacts from our collection. The Jail remains open for those who want to take cell-fies, and read about the history of the Coastside.
The Coastside History Museum, including the Jail, is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30am to 4:30pm. Museum exhibits and artifacts bring the San Mateo Coastside’s past to life, reflecting its many cultures and depicting the times of the Indigenous Ohlone, the Spanish and Mexican eras, our agricultural heritage, the railroad, and more.
We hold free speaker events on local history topics, provide an education program to all schools in the area, and record oral histories to preserve the stories of the coast. If you have questions about Coastside history, contact our research team.
The Association offers Coastside history videos to students, teachers and history buffs, and we serve as a resource for anyone with questions about the history of this unique region. We have completed construction of our new Coastside History Museum in the old barn behind the jail. We welcome new members and donations to support our programs. We very much rely on volunteers as docents, for research, and our other activities; more details here.
Nearby History museums and sites
Miramar: Small Town/Big History
Miramar is known for its restaurants and sunsets. With a population just over 2,000 people, it seems a sleepy, upscale, nice place to visit.
It wasn’t always the case, and I’ve found artifacts to prove it.
This small section of the coast has seen human activity for thousands of years. Inhabited by first nation people, it also had a place in Spanish Mission history, in the earliest days of the town of Halfmoon Bay, played a role during prohibition, and in California defense during World War II. Not bad for a small section of the coast.The areas in which we live—and where our ancestors originated—influence our food preferences. Look back into your life and remember family dinners, picnics, school-lunch-pail food, and the ethnicity of the meals you remember with fondness. [Article Continued]
Eating on the Coastside: Food Through the Ages
The areas in which we live—and where our ancestors originated—influence our food preferences. Look back into your life and remember family dinners, picnics, school-lunch-pail food, and the ethnicity of the meals you remember with fondness.
The Ohlone—the First Coastsiders
This article approaches how Coastside peoples—the Ohlone, Spanish, Californios, Gold Rushers, and World War II folks in the area—secured their food, and the tools and the cooking systems they used to prepare it. [Article Continued]