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Yolo County Historical Collection

The Yolo County Historical Collection is comprised of 11,000 objects which date from the 1830s to the 1930s. The collection includes textiles, agricultural equipment, paintings, archival materials, ephemera, photographs, archaeological items, tools, ceramics, household items, furniture, and personal items. This collection illustrates what life was like for early Yolo County residents.

Yolo County Historical Collection
512 Gibson Rd
Woodland, CA 95695
530-908-9421
sarah.bartlett@yolocounty.gov

The Museum is open:
Tuesdays & Thursdays: 12pm-4pm
Curator open hours one Saturday a month: 8am-4pm (3/22 | 4/19 | 5/17)
Open for docent led tours select Saturdays: 1pm & 2pm (7/13, 7/27, 8/10, 9/14, 9/28)
Admission is FREE

To schedule a research appointment with the Historical Collection email sarah.bartlett@yolocounty.org.

Exhibitions

Grimm Tales: Stories of Life and Death

Grimm Tales Exhibition Flier

November 7, 2024 – February 22, 2025 (Gibson House)

Opening Reception Thursday, November 14th, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Grimm Tales: Stories of Life and Death examines the role of storytelling in the development of cultural practice and cultural understanding of life and death. Explore how myth, fairytales, and storytelling have been used for centuries to help us make sense of the world and prepare us for darker times.

Picturing Yolo County: Portraits and Painters in the Yolo County Historical Collection

March 6, 2025 – June 17,  2025

Opening Reception Thursday, March 6th, 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm.

In 2023, the Yolo County Historical Collection sent fifteen frames and nine paintings to conservators to be restored. “Picturing Yolo County” features newly restored portraits made by and for Yolo County residents during the late 1800s. These portraits, while similar in style, exemplify the different ways that local artists chose to work within this art form. This exhibition examines Yolo County portraiture through the work of six 19th century local artists, Phoebe Olevia Hodgen, Calthea Campbell Vivian, Clara Brown, Louis Grund Joran, Carrie Blowers and Annie Blowers.

Picture Yourself in Yolo County Project

The Yolo County Historical Collection strives to create diverse exhibitions that show the history of all Yolo County residents. The goal of the Picture Yourself in Yolo County project is to work towards the telling of a more inclusive history through community collaboration. If you want to see yourself in the Gibson House, ask the Gibson House docent or your the Davis, West Scramento, and Yolo branches for the Picture Yourself in Yolo County activity.

Activity can be found here.

Learn More about the Yolo County Historical Collection

Subscribe to the monthly Historical Collection Newsletter here.

Interested in an Internship?

Back to Yolo County Archives and Historical Collection