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2350 North 30th Street . Tacoma, WA 98403
253.627.5405
General Open Hours: 1:00 to 4:00 (Wed-Sat)
Summer Hours: 12:00 to 4:00 (Wed-Sat)
> eMail the Cabin Now!
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To Believe in a Vision
In the spring of 1997 two local business women and community activists, Phillis Olson
and Karen Poole, had a dream to bring the historic presence back to Old Town Tacoma.
Enjoying the waterfront setting, they decided to open a business in the area
the previous year. However, the business district didn't feel as historical as the name
"Old Town" suggested.
Through their research they discovered the rich history of Tacoma and the significant
role Job Carr played in founding Old Town Tacoma. Replicating his cabin as a museum
would help to foster historic preservation. It would also encourage tourism and visitors
to Old Town and attract new businesses relocating to the historic district. The plan
was to provide school age children, visitors, and the general public a history lesson
about the "Birthplace of Tacoma."
The first goal was to recruit a group of business, community and professional
individuals with the same vision that could bring technical and professional expertise
to the creation of the museum. The Job Carr Cabin Museum Executive Council was
formed and a mission statement created: "To preserve the history of Tacoma's
origin through replication of Job Carr's Cabin in Old Town."
 
Metro Parks Tacoma was contacted to formulate a plan to place the cabin in Old Town
Park and in April of 1998 a resolution was issued to partner with the Job Carr Cabin
project. The park, which is adjacent to a major arterial street in Tacoma, sits a few
hundred feet away from the original site of the cabin.
Fundraising began in 1998 with a local business man Brad Cheney as capital campaign
chairperson and a committee was formed. A traveling exhibit of a scale model
recreation of Job Carr's cabin and interpretive signage was used to tell the story of
"How Tacoma Began". It traveled to schools, libraries, community groups, public
entities, and appeared on public television. Soon funding was coming in and the
project was to be a reality.
 
Gene Grulich, a well-respected architect with extensive experience in historic
renovation and construction was selected to be the project leader. July 10, 2000 the
ground was broken for construction of the first permanent white settler's structure
in our city. Approximately 100 construction industry-related individuals, contractors,
and sub-contractors from Tacoma and the surrounding communities were involved
in the project, thanks to the leadership role that Rushforth Construction and Absher
Construction took to obtain as much in-kind labor and material as possible.
 
December 2, 2000 was a great day as a vision and a dream became a reality. The Job
Carr Cabin Museum opened with a fanfare of speeches, music, balloons and hundreds
of spectators again visiting the famous little cabin which was the "Birthplace of
Tacoma." One simple Quaker man from Ohio, Job Carr had a dream to claim a site he
hoped would serve as the terminus for the (Burlington Northern) Railroad. Instead,
he became the first mayor, notary public, postmaster and his cabin was the first post
office of our great city in which he founded. Through his vision and that of two local
women, Phillis Olson and Karen Poole, along with countless others, the dream of
knowing our city's history has become a reality.
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