Little Bitty Boom Town
For many big cities, the 1920s were truly “roaring,” but in Gig Harbor the “roar” was the sound of lumber mills and hammer strikes. Prohibition may have limited bars and distilling, but that didn’t stop this little town from seeing growth in every corner. From ship building to egg & poultry production, local industry grew at surprising rates, fueled by the arrival of electricity. Power came in partnership with Tacoma City Light, coursing from Cushman Dam to West Tacoma by way of Gig Harbor. This engineering feat gave rise to our own Peninsula Light Company in July of 1925. That “light” changed everything.

“Little Bitty Boom Town” is a special exhibition that touches on the many firsts Gig Harbor experienced during the 1920s. Produced with large format historical images, the exhibit invites visitors to the town’s first theater, Skansie’s Ship Building company, the Washington Egg and Poultry Cooperative’s new waterfront warehouse, and so much more. In the “portrait gallery” section of the exhibit, meet some of the people you may have seen on the street such as Anna Jerisch, Teresa Sweeney, Mitchell Skansie, Andrew Gilich, and even the wedding party of Lena Dorotich and Nick Bez.

“The 1920s were an incredible time of growth and industry here in Gig Harbor,” says Stephanie Lile, museum director and exhibit curator. “Even though there were just 800 people here at the time, new buildings and businesses were all the rage.” The exhibit also highlights an extraordinary new acquisition for the museum--the Snyder Model-T egg truck. Donated by the Snyder family, the truck is one of the earliest used by the egg co-op to move eggs from farm to warehouse. JL Snyder drove trucks for the co-op, and his son Smith went to Midway School and later worked for the co-op as well.

Not far from the co-op building, Skansie’s Ship Building Company was in full swing. The museum’s fishing boat, Shenandoah, slid down their ways in April 1925, hence the intended tie to the Maritime Gallery Grand Opening on April 26 celebrating the 100th anniversary of Shenandoah’s launch.

The exhibit will run through September 2025. Museum hours are 11am-4pm Wednesday through Saturday.