San Mateo County History Museum

Great place to know more about the history of the peninsula and SF Bay area.

Free admission features restored courthouse, engaging exhibits on local history and a stunning stained-glass dome. A must-visit for families and history buffs.

One of my favorite museums I've ever been to. All the exhibits are fascinating, with many hands on interactive portions. Want to climb into a mud wagon and imagine the experience of traveling for 9 hours along a bumpy road? Send a telegram? Drive a streetcar? Or try your hand at an 1800s gambling game? This place has it all. I loved learning about the history of the place I live, where the highways and public transit systems I use daily came from. Or seeing the evolution California license plates, from porcelain plates to how we saved steel during the war. I've only seen one section so far out of a dozen since I'm spending so much time at each exhibit. Admission is cheap, and the building looks beautiful. If you haven't been I highly recommend this museum.

We were tipped off about this. This museum by going to another museum nearby. And wow, this is a great place to spend a drizzly afternoon. Studying local history really opens your eyes and gives you a better appreciation for where you live. Gorgeous architecture and there were several different exhibits so you could always choose one and that is of your interest and stick with it and spend the good amount of time with it. We spent some time in each of them and and could have spent even more time but we had to get going. Lots of restaurants and things to do nearby to and there's a nice plaza outside as well.

As a former museum curator and program coordinator, I expect cultural and historical institutions to accurately present the past in contemporary contexts. The San Mateo County History Museum falls short in numerous ways: Interpretation and Cultural Insensitivity: Outdated terminology: Exhibits still use the offensive term "Orient" (see image). Disrespectful display of human remains: A cut Qing queue (human hair braid) is displayed next to racist cartoons mocking it, ignoring the cultural trauma and personal consequences for the individual who cut it. Historical inaccuracy: The Land of Opportunity exhibit uses the modern Chinese flag to represent early Chinese immigrants, who were actually subjects of the Qing Empire. This misrepresentation reinforces dangerous propaganda about China's history. Exhibit Space Mismanagement: Skewed priorities: The sports exhibit is larger than the space dedicated to the indigenous Ohlone people. Ignored context: Despite being housed in a 1910 courthouse, there's no mention of the judicial system's role in racial issues in America. Environmental oversight: The redwood logging exhibit glosses over the severe, lasting ecological damage from clear-cutting old-growth forests. Nonsensical immigration exhibit: The interactive map for visitors to pin their family's immigration origins only shows the USA, not the world. This defeats the entire purpose of an immigration exhibit. Historical Misrepresentation: Whitewashing Japanese American history: The exhibit claims Japanese Americans were "recruited" from internment camps, ignoring that they enlisted to prove their loyalty as Americans. See the Japanese American National Museum. Perpetuating misconceptions: The use of the modern Chinese flag in historical contexts reinforces inaccurate ideas about China's political history. --- In sum, the San Mateo County History Museum itself belongs in a historical museum.