Our Mission

We bring together all members of the community to preserve, celebrate, and share the history of the San Mateo Coastside.

About the History Association

We are volunteers dedicated to bringing together all members of the community to preserve and share the history of the San Mateo Coastside. We view that history as the lives and works of all the cultures and races that made the Coastside what it is today, from the times of the earliest Ohlone villages, to the Mexican period, on through the early American period, and up to modern times.

We welcome all as members, visitors, and researchers, regardless of race, culture, gender, or age.

In our education role, we describe the contributions and trials of all peoples that have resided, worked in and visited the area from Montara to Año Nuevo. Their problems, including racism, discrimination, and violence are part of our history, and must not be forgotten or hidden. Only by remembering and explaining history fully can we avoid repeating past offenses and improve our lives.

Our history is that of the land, the sea, and the peoples at their meeting  that defines us as the Coastside. That meeting shapes our lives, the lives of our predecessors, their inventions, art, farms, harbors, and buildings. We preserve their artifacts and stories, and present them to make the past come alive. In presenting that past, we discuss painful realities, in part to avoid them in the future.

The Half Moon Bay History Association is a charitable IRS 501(c)3 education non-profit. Our charitable tax ID (EIN) is 20-8712053. Copies of our tax returns with financial summaries are available on ProPublica.

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