Our Programs
The Half Moon Bay History Association holds quarterly meetings on a range of historical topics. In addition to the presentation, the meetings provide an opportunity for community members to meet and socialize. Our presentations were suspended between March 2020 and September 2022 due to Covid-19, and resumed with the October 2022 presentation by Mark Hylkema.
All of our presentations are free and open to the public, although membership is encouraged. Your donations enable us to continue to celebrate and present the history of the Coastside.
Half Moon Bay History Association Video Tours
Half Moon Bay History Association Docent Training Videos
If you have any questions about our videos, please contact us by email at: info@halfmoonbayhistory.org
Thanks to Liane Brookhart of Liane’s Lens and Michelle Dragony of Coastside Buzz for their recording and production of these video recordings.
- May 12, 2018 Ohlone Life on the Coastside (Part 1), Mark Hylkema
- May 12, 2018 Spanish Settlers near Half Moon Bay (Part 2), Mark Hylkema
- May 15, 2018 HMB Coastside History Overview, Dave Cresson
- May 19, 2018 Maritime History of Half Moon Bay Coastside, JoAnn Semones
- May 26, 2018 Ocean Shore Railroad, Chris Hunter
- June 2, 2018 WWII Life on the Half Moon Bay Coastside JQ Oeswein,
Half Moon Bay History Association Quarterly Presentations
- February 3, 2015 Mavericks Surfing History (PCTV), Bruce Jenkins, Grant Washburn, Doug Acton, Frank Quirarte, Eric Nelson
- September 24, 2015 World War II at Home: America’s Fear hits the Coastside, Naomi Patridge
- January 14, 2016 Find a Single Leaf and Fit it on the Tree of History, Bob Chandler
- April 26, 2016 Prohibition on the San Mateo County Coast, Carmen Blair
- May 26, 2018 History of downtown Half Moon Bay, California and notable families, Dave Cresson
- September 11, 2018 Spanish and Mexican Years on the Coastside and Bay Area 1769 -1848, Damian Bacich
- December 4, 2018 History is my Beat, Jim Clifford
- March 14, 2019 The Lost Town of Purissima, Tom Woosnam
- September 10, 2019 Our Land Grants And the Coastside’s Mexican Years, Dave Cresson
- December 17, 2019: Wrecks at Franklin Point and the Shipwreck Cemetery, Mark Hylkema
- February 11, 2020 Native American Lifeways, Mark Hylkema
- October 22, 2022 Ancestral Native American Lifeways of the Half Moon Bay Area, Mark Hylkema
- December 13, 2022 Mavericks Big Wave Surfing History with Judy Matienzo, Ryan Seelbach, and Bianca Valenti
- March 20, 2023 Bob Pinto discusses and demonstrates the manufacture of tools by Indigenous people of western North America
- August 8, 2023 Miramar: Small Town/Big History with Jo Fry
- February 1, 2024 Half Moon Bay Volunteer Department with Clayton Jolley
- May 21, 2024 Ocean Shore Railroad History with Chris Hunter
- August 13, 2024 History of Pigeon Point Light Station by Richard Holmboe
Three part POST lecture series by State Park Archeologist Mark Hylkema
- June 12, 2020 Part 1: Indigenous History in the Bay Area
- June 19, 2020 Part 2: Indigenous History in the Bay Area: Ethnobotany and Land Stewardship
- June 26, 2020 Part 3: Indigenous Peoples of the Bay Area: Economy, Spirituality, and Culture
Other Videos
- A 10 minute History Association video promoting the building of a new Coastside History Museum
- November 20, 2020 Uncovering Ships and Secrets at Pigeon Point – Richard Fitzgerald, a State Parks & POST sponsored lecture
- September 18, 1994 and April 16, 1995 views of the larger Half Moon Bay California downtown area. Shot and narrated by Tom Woosman
Children of Half Moon Bay, date unknown.
Education
The Half Moon Bay History Association’s Education Committee was created to introduce Coastside youth to local history. Our first program, fine-tuned over the past five years, brings a blend of history talks and related crafts to third-grade classrooms via a 90-minute interactive visit. We recently released an activity book for third grade students.
We bring our program to each third-grade class in the four public elementary schools in the Cabrillo School District, and to the two private elementary schools in our Coastside area, every school year.
We are developing future school programs for both the middle school and the high school. With more volunteers, we hope to find more ways to educate other segments of our growing population. Our mission is to provide all residents and visitors an opportunity to learn about the fascinating history of the Coastside.
A Coastside family.
Oral History
Stories told by local people about their lives and experiences are among our greatest historical treasures. It is one of the best ways to reach back in time and touch remarkable individuals and irreplaceable times.
Through our archival collections, we’ve discovered a series of interviews that were recorded more than 50 years ago. We’re developing preservation methods for these recordings and any resulting transcripts.
We’re also beginning to request additional oral history interviews with important Coastsiders. This will bring us a wealth of information about history on the coast. If you or someone you know has a story to share, please contact us.
There are dozens of buildings in and around downtown Half Moon Bay that are of historic significance. However, only a handful have plaques providing information on their history, including dates when they were built.
The Historic Marker Team has identified 19 buildings on or close to Main Street on which to install exterior plaques to share that history. Each marker includes a photo of the original structure or its owner along with a paragraph illustrating each structure’s colorful history.
We have installed the first group of plaques around the downtown area. We plan to install additional plaques in the future.
We plan to develop a map and walking tour guide of the historic downtown. If you are interested in helping, please contact us.