New Sonoma Creamery, Tomales (1924)

Hand-colored postcard of Marshall railroad depot (c. 1905)

Marconi flag stop, Marshall (1915)

Running Fence, art installation by Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Valley Ford (1976)

Smith Bros. No. 1, Bodega Bay’s Smith Bros. Fishery (early 20th century)

“Real Photo Postcard” of people at Dillon’s Beach (early 20th century)

Three young women on Maine Street (Highway One), Tomales (1917)

Tomales Regional History Center

Serving the Marin-Sonoma Shoreline Region

since 1978

On View

Temporary Exhibit

Featured

Winter 2024/2025: 150th Anniversary of Tomales Town Hall

The current exhibit features the 150 year history of the Tomales Town Hall. Built and run entirely by volunteers, the Tomales Town Hall is a fun and vital part of life in Tomales, West Marin, and the Sonoma Coast. Come learn the quirky, humorous, and moving story of how locals built one of the oldest continuously used public spaces in California, how successive generations have added to that story, and what the next chapter holds.

Permanent Exhibits

Featured

The Coast Miwok

Before the European explorers and pioneers, the shoreline region was home to the Coast Miwok people.

The Pioneers

Most came seeking opportunity or adventure, and they left their marks in countless ways.

The Story of Tomales

Tomales began with a port — the community’s center for almost twenty years.

Agriculture

The region’s agriculture industry is traced to the earliest pioneers who raised dairy cattle, produced butter and cheese, and grew potatoes and grain here.

The Railroad

Railroad fever was sweeping the country when the North Pacific Coast line was incorporated in 1871.

Tomales High School

Tomales High School opened on August 5th, 1912, with two rooms and twenty-three students.

The History Center Blog

Walking Tour

Take yourself on a self-guided walking tour of the village of Tomales on your next visit!

Step Up

Tomales Regional History Center is run entirely by volunteers and we rely on the support of our community. Won’t you step up?

Visit

Our exhibits and events open to the public. Welcome in!

Hours

Year Round: Saturday & Sunday 1:00 PM — 4:00 PM
Closed: Christmas Day, New Years Day
Or by appointment: Contact us

Location

Tomales Regional History Center (map)
26701 Highway One
Tomales, CA 94971

For our mission statement, please see the About page.

Contact

“[H]istory can untie our minds, our bodies, our disposition to move — to engage life rather than contemplating it as an outsider. It can do this by widening our view to include the silent voices of the past, so that we look beyond the silence of the present.”

— Howard Zinn, The Politics of History, 1970