Renton History Museum

07/04/2025

Before she left, Museum Office Aide Stephanie Snyder completed this excellent online exhibit about Longacres Racetrack. We're hoping this will keep your need for Renton history filled until the museum re-opens! Happy Fourth!

History of Longacres Race Track in the 1930s and 40s

07/02/2025

From retiring director Liz Stewart: "What is the purpose of local history? To give us a uniquely local perspective on events and trends that are happening all across the country and the world... To give us courage when we need it, and comfort when we lose hope... To show us the error of our ways, by shining a light on past mistakes.

Thank you for supporting the Renton History Museum in our mission to ensure that Renton history is preserved for the future. I have loved getting to know you all and being a part of Renton's past, present, and future."

06/30/2025

Liz and Stephanie will be here at the Renton History Museum for a few more days before the Museum closes for renovations in the month of July. Stop in and say hello, Tuesday, July 1 through Thursday, July 3, 10 am - 4 pm!

06/03/2025

Our June newsletter features new research on the Moses family by Eleanor Boba, an expanded version of her HistoryLink article here: https://historylink.org/File/23289. Eleanor tells the story of the family's advocacy on behalf of Duwamish people and how they worked with the tribe to try to address past injustices.

06/01/2025

On this day in 1935 Ernest Backlund was opening the Renton service station at 3rd and Smithers where he worked when Issaquah farmer Louis Bonifas came roaring up with young George Weyerhaeuser in his truck. Nine-year-old George had been kidnapped for ransom on May 24, 1935 from Tacoma, held in a hole in the ground for a week, and then let out of a car along the side of the road near the Bonifas farm. Lacking a phone, the farmer drove to Renton at 5:30 a.m. and stopped at the nearest open business. Backlund made the call to the Weyerhaeuser family, and the boy was reunited with his parents.

05/23/2025

The Museum will be open on Memorial Day Monday from noon to 3 p.m., so that those participating in the Memorial Day commemoration can visit. Stop by and say hello--admission is free!

05/22/2025

The Duwamish People have purchased land in Fairwood for preservation, which is good for all of us!

8:01 PM: Announced today by the Duwamish Tribe, whose previous land holdings have been at and adjacent to their Longhouse in West Seattle: The Duwamish Tribe has completed the purchase of 33 acres of land in the Fairwood District of Renton, Washington. This land features a thriving wetland ecosystem...

05/03/2025

We were very excited to host a reception today for the high school artists who submitted work to the Congressional Art Competition from Rep. Adam Smith’s district. The winners will have their art exhibited in the congressional offices in Washington, DC and here in the district. Thank you to these talented young artists and Rep. Smith and his staff.

04/09/2025

The Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, NY is going out of its way to make disabled visitors welcome, but also to adjust the president's story to reflect the reality of his post-polio abilities. Their new exhibit explores how FDR navigated the public's perception of disability and shows how his attitude and behavior changed attitudes.

The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site now has a disability-affirming interpretation of FDR’s life after polio. This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s Mar…

04/07/2025

You never know when a new object will open up a Renton story you've never heard... This donated flyer for the May Valley Co-Op, located on 148th Ave. SE from 1955 through 1977, opens into the story of PCC, the local cooperative food market chain.

John Affolter moved his family to Seattle in 1949 to pursue his dream of creating cooperative housing; he also operated a food co-op from his basement. In 1955 he and other Seattle Cooperative Housing Association members purchased 55 acres east of Renton for the May Valley Co-op Community, also a housing cooperative. It survived as a housing co-op until 1977, when members voted to become a neighborhood. But Affolter kept the food club going at the Renton location. In 1960 the group voted to rename the co-op Puget Consumers Co-op. By 1967 the club had outgrown its more casual operations, and the health department shut down its May Valley location. The group opened its first storefront in Madrona and grew from there into PCC.

04/04/2025

Your help is urgently needed to support Humanities Washington and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Renton History Museum has brought free and low-cost programs to our community, to you, thanks to programs at Humanities Washington. Won't you speak up for them today?

Save Our Humanities Councils: DOGE Cuts to NEH will Damage Cultural Organizations in Every State On Monday, March 31, the Federation of State Humanities Councils learned that DOGE (Department of … Read more