The Brea Museum is operated by the Brea Historical Society, a non-profit organization. The Museum's spectacular exhibits tell the story of the history of Brea from its founding in 1917 to the present. The exhibits tell the unique story of Brea and how this city fits in to the larger history of California and of the United States.

The Museum also houses a research archive, a reference library, and the museum’s collections of artifacts, photographs, and manuscripts. For more information on doing research in the collections, contact the Museum. Please explore the Museum's website and come explore the Museum!

The Brea Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation of the rich history of Brea and its region. Through the Brea Museum and Heritage Center, the Society provides a place for education, investigation, research, and community gatherings. The Society encourages students, citizens, and visitors alike to explore our many histories, our roots, and to uncover the events, people, and stories that have shaped Brea in the past and continue to shape it into the future.

In 1962, the city of Brea celebrated its 50th Anniversary and a group of Brea residents, realizing how much the city had changed in their lifetimes, began collecting objects and photographs that documented the city’s history. Their group expanded in number and, in 1971, formally organized into the Brea Historical Society. In the early 1980s, the Brea Historical Society first opened the Brea Museum at the old City Hall. There, they displayed oil artifacts and photographs. Several years later the Museum moved into its current location in the old American Legion Hall where it has a much expanded exhibit on Brea’s history, a collections' storage facility, reference library, research center, and meeting facility.