OUR LEGACY

INCORPORATED IN 1969

The Bristol Bay Historical Society was formally incorporated in 1969, born from informal gatherings at Jenny’s Bar, where relics of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery adorned the walls. When the bar changed hands in 1972, these artifacts became part of our primary collection and are still a cornerstone of our archives collection today. Housed in the historic A.R. Davey General Merchandise building in downtown Naknek, Alaska, the Bristol Bay Museum is dedicated to preserving Indigenous cultural lifeways and local maritime heritage. Our collections highlights the multicultural influences that continue to shape Bristol Bay, from the Bow & Arrow Wars to Russian exploration and the rise of the commercial salmon industry.

Operating year-round, the museum has become a vibrant hub for locals, tourists, and seasonal seafood industry participants. A standout of our collection is Libby 76, the only surviving seaworthy Bristol Bay double ender sailboat from the last century. Our ongoing efforts to nominate Libby 76 to the National Register of Historic Places underscore its significance in the history of conservation, activism, and the fight to protect Alaska’s fishery—an effort that ultimately helped pave the way for statehood.

THE HEART OF ALASKA’S HISTORY, CULTURE & INDUSTRY

Our programs inspire academic inquiries and enrich collective knowledge about the relationships between people, industry, and the natural landscape they inhabit. Often described as “a museum itself”, the small villages of Bristol Bay reflect a living heritage where history is embedded in everyday life. The Society’s collection, archives, and historic properties embody this living heritage and represent one of the world’s most vital in-tact eco cultural systems. These holdings document Indigenous cultural traditions and maritime heritage to illuminate the social connections between the communities that are connected to our watershed throughout the Bristol Bay region, state of Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest.

This unbroken network of lived knowledge has the potential to inform other institutions about their collection holdings and other communities about the importance of natural resource management and cultural preservation. These programs celebrate Indigenous cultural traditions, document our unique maritime heritage, and illuminate the social connections between the communities that are connected to our watershed throughout the Bristol Bay region, state of Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest.