Fort Nisqually Living History Museum
Fort Nisqually Events 2024
Friday, October 4, and Saturday, October 5
Candlelight Tour 2024
Campfires and candlelight provide illumination for this outdoor evening walking tour of Fort Nisqually Living History Museum. Guests eavesdrop as more than a hundred historical interpreters bring to life the men, women, and children of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the year 1855. Be entertained by songs, dances, and games. During the tours, these people from the past won’t be aware of their 21st century visitors. Advance ticket purchase is required for this popular event!
Purchase Admission Here!
About Fort Nisqually
Fort Nisqually, the first globally connected settlement on the Puget Sound, was established in 1833 by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a fur trading outpost. The decline of the fur trade meant that Fort Nisqually’s focus shifted to commercial agricultural enterprises with the establishment of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company (PSAC) in 1839. Based at Fort Nisqually, the PSAC raised cattle, sheep, and horses along with crops such as wheat, barley, oats, and peas across the 160,000 acres claimed by the company. By 1855, the date the museum portrays, this British establishment was surrounded by American territory and faced increasing pressure from settlers who wanted the farmable land for their own use. The Hudson’s Bay Company sold its holdings to the United States government, withdrawing from Washington Territory in 1869, and Fort Nisqually became the homestead of the last manager, Edward Huggins.
Fort Nisqually was originally located in what is now DuPont, WA. The Fort you see today was reconstructed in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Civic-minded citizens preserved and donated two of the original structures, the Factor’s House and Granary, to the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma. The museum gives residents and visitors a chance to experience what life was like on Puget Sound in 1855.
Want to learn more about Fort Nisqually Living History Museum and using our research library? Interested in volunteer opportunities or becoming a member of the museum? Looking to book an education tour or even rent the fort for weddings and parties? Head on over to our official Metro Parks Tacoma web page to learn about all of these and more!
Celebrating 90 Years at Point Defiance Park
Nestled amongst the trees, it’s easy to think that Fort Nisqually Living History Museum has always been in Point Defiance Park. In truth the wooden palisade and towering bastions that keep watch over Five Mile Drive, and most of the buildings enclosed within, are a reconstruction of the original Fort Nisqually located near what is now Dupont, WA.
“Old Fort Nisqually” opened in September 1934 as part of Tacoma’s Labor Day celebrations with two original buildings carefully relocated and faithful reconstructions of the Sales Shop, southwest bastion, and palisades.
The museum is celebrating 90 years in the park with a line-up of events and programs, including an upcoming exhibit Saving Fort Nisqually.
We Acknowledge
Metro Parks Tacoma acknowledges that we operate on the traditional homelands of Coast Salish tribes, who have lived on and stewarded these lands since time immemorial and continue to do so today.
Location
Fort Nisqually Living History Museum
Physical Address:
5519 Five Mile Drive
Tacoma, WA, 98407
Mailing Address:
5400 N Pearl St, Ste #11
Tacoma, WA, 98407
Museum Hours of Operation
October-April
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday thru Sunday: 11am-4pm
May-September
Monday thru Sunday: 11am-5pm
Closed on the following holidays:
New Year's Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas Day