Valdez, Alaska

History

The museum portrays the community's unique and colorful history from European exploration in the 1700s to contemporary oil transportation. Permanent exhibits are accented by temporary exhibitions of arts and crafts. Major artifacts include a 19th century Fresnel Lighthouse Lens, a beautifully restored 1907 Ahrens "Continental" steam fire engine and a companion 1880s Gleason & Bailey hand-pumped fire engine, saltwater aquariums with the marine life of Port Valdez, a Civil War-era cannon, an ornate turn-of-the-century saloon bar, and much gold rush material. Other exhibits depict the effects of the 1964 earthquake and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill on this small Prince William Sound community.