All Aboard The Lacey Historic Train Depot Museum Project

lacey museum
Lacey City Council Member, Cynthia Pratt, enters the current Lacey Museum. A proposed project will create much needed space for the museum's collection as well as provide an 1891 replica of the train depot.
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By Lisa Herrick

lacey museum
Lacey City Council Member, Cynthia Pratt, enters the current Lacey Museum as Lori Flemm (not pictured), City of Lacey Director of Parks & Recreation explains the proposed Lacey Museum at the Depot project which will create much needed space for the museum’s collection as well as provide an 1891 replica of the train depot.

Prepare to depart December 5, 2016.  On this date, Lacey will break ground on a new museum site marking 125 years as an established community and celebrating 50 years as an incorporated city.  At this groundbreaking celebration, the City of Lacey will begin the construction of an 1891 replica of the Northern Pacific Railroad train depot where it once stood along Pacific Avenue.

The Lacey Museum at the Depot will showcase the city’s rich and interesting history and heritage. One only needs to journey back in time on the railway in order to understand the significance of the proposed Lacey Museum at the Depot.

The Historic Lacey Depot

In 1891, the Northern Pacific Railroad Company constructed the Lacey Train Depot in the rapidly growing community, directly in front of the Woodland Driving Park horse racing track, near today’s intersection of Pacific Avenue and Clearbrook Drive.

The Lacey Depot brought people to the community for recreation and served as a link to nearby cities.  Hundreds of passengers from around southern Puget Sound would arrive to attend horse races. Additionally, by the mid-1920’s, Lacey was famous as a resort community with 19 resorts along the shores of the local lakes.

The Lacey Depot was a critical means of communication.  Daily mail was dispatched to and from the community by train.  The railroad abandoned the depot in 1933 but the structure stood well into the 1940s. One exhibit in the current Lacey Museum is “Transportation and Movement Throughout the Lacey Area” displaying the Lacey Depot and depicting the historical importance of the railroad in this area.

The Lacey Museum

The Lacey Museum tells the fascinating story of Lacey’s past, present and future.  The museum is located in a historic, two-story structure originally built in 1926 by Fred Russell, as a private residence on Pacific Avenue just west of the Lacey Depot.

In the late 1940s, the building was used by the Lacey Volunteer Fire Department. After Lacey was incorporated in 1966, it became the first city hall. Eventually city government outgrew the building. By 1979, the decision was made to create a local museum on land donated by the Lacey Women’s Club.  The Fred Russell Residence was moved from Pacific Avenue to its current location on Lacey Street.

The Lacey Museum was established in 1980 to further the preservation and interpretation of Lacey’s long and rich history through exhibition venues, historical publications, educational programming and research activities. However, once again the city has outgrown the building as many of Lacey’s artifacts and collections are stored in multiple locations off site and the museum lacks sufficient space to even accommodate student field trips.

The Lacey Museum at the Depot

Reconstructing the Lacey Depot as the new Lacey Museum at the Depot will provide a visible reminder of the city’s history.  Building it close to its original location on Pacific Avenue and designing it close to its original 1891 structure will allow for drivers along this major thoroughfare to momentarily travel back in time.  The hope is that it will also encourage them to stop and learn more about the stories and the people that shaped the city, making Lacey the great place to live and work that it is today. The Lacey Museum at the Depot will be the cultural and heritage center of the city.

The Lacey Museum at the Depot will be sized to display and store the current collection and have room for additional storage capacity.  The museum will be able to properly and securely store artifacts in one location at the museum site.  The proposed space will include a lobby that can seat groups for orientation, presentations and classes.

Bringing Lacey’s past into the present for display in the future Lacey Museum at the Depot can potentially serve as a hub to further expand Lacey’s historical district.

For further information:

The Lacey Museum at the Depot

Lacey Museum Hours:

Thursday and Friday from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. or by appointment by calling 360.413.3557

Lacey Historical Commission

Lori Flemm, Director Parks & Recreation Department

 

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