Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Lacey Museum installed a street-facing window exhibit this month at its new site in Bell Towne Center, as part of its ongoing relocation effort.
Meanwhile, the museum separately confirmed it has assumed publishing rights for a regional history book previously under Thurston County.
As the museum prepares to open, its first visible feature is a window display facing 6th Avenue. According to the museum, the window exhibit signals progress and supports efforts “to bring a new and refreshed look to the Lacey Museum.”
The City of Lacey Parks, Culture & Recreation Department is encouraging visitors to take selfies at the newly installed “Greetings From Lacey, Washington” window exhibition.
As part of its outreach, the Lacey Museum is also promoting a social media campaign inviting the public to post and tag @cityoflaceyparks on Instagram or Facebook. The museum announced that the photos would be featured in a future edition of its newsletter.
In a separate announcement on Friday, July 11, the Lacey Museum confirmed it is now the official publisher of “Thurston County: Water, Woods & Prairies,” a historical volume previously published by Thurston County.
Under a 2025 agreement between the county and the City of Lacey, rights to the book were transferred to the museum so its contents “can continue to be shared with the public.”
Originally produced by the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners and the Thurston County Historic Commission, and distributed by the Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum, the book features essays written by nine regional authors. The authors are Gerry Alexander, Drew Crooks, Jennifer Crooks, Sandra Crowell, the late Les Eldridge, Dr. James Hannum, Karen Johnson, Shanna Stevenson and Don Trosper.
In materials published by the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, the book is noted for its coverage of Indigenous history, maritime exploration, early settlement, logging, agriculture, the development of Washington state capitol building and contemporary topics.
The book also includes more than 250 photographs, original maps, historic documents and 25 sidebars. It is fully footnoted, indexed and supported by an extensive bibliography.
The Lacey Museum said that the second edition is scheduled for reprint and will be available at the new museum store.
The museum also said additional updates will be shared through official City of Lacey channels as progress continues at the 6th Avenue site.
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wildnature
I can't wait to read the book. I'm so glad they put in the Indigenous history because when I visited the Lacey Museum over a decade ago, there was just white peoples' history in it.
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