Our Mission:
Through diverse perspectives and interactive experiences, the Museum uses Job Carr’s story to open the door to Tacoma’s history for students and our community.
Our Values:
Learning: History is inspiring and fun to learn through interactive experiences.
Trust: We recognize and work every day to keep the faith you have in us to tell history with integrity,
accuracy, sensitivity, humility, and equity.Inclusion: All feel welcome, safe, and included when engaging with us. Community members can connect with the stories we share of Tacoma's diverse history.
Community: JCCM participates in the greater Tacoma-Pierce County community as a resource for local history and partner for cultural development.
Our Story: 25 Years at the Job Carr Cabin Museum!
Job Carr's original cabin was added to Tacoma's Register of Historic Places in 1976. At the time, it stood in Point Defiance Park as a testament to Tacoma's settlement, but it was a ruin with no doors or windows, and by 1988 it had deteriorated to the point that Parks Tacoma had to demolish the structure.
Shortly thereafter, business owners Karen Poole and Phillis Olson began conversations with the Old Town Business and Professional Association to bring Old Town's historic past back to life. Preservation architect Gene Grulich and Valerie Sivinsky, JCCM Executive Council Member and Tacoma’s Historic Preservation Officer, examined the logs from the original cabin and determined that they were not salvagable. After a year promoting the project in the community and raising funds, construction began in the spring of 2000, led by Gene's expertise. Countless individuals and companies donated in kind services to bring this dream to life, including Absher Construction and Rushforth Construction, North Fork Timber Company, and Shire Mountain Homes.
Dedicated on December 2, 2000, the Job Carr Cabin Museum is the result of a grassroots effort to preserve Tacoma's frontier history. Today, we work to ensure that the stories and impacts of Tacoma's settlement and growth are accessible for students and families. We hope that by sharing diverse stories of perserverance, injustice, home, love and land, we inspire our community to care for our beautiful city and work towards a brighter future together.
Land Acknowledgement
We are thankful to the Puyallup Tribal Language Program for providing the Lushootseed translation of the land acknowledgement signage at the museum.
We gratefully acknowledge that this museum, and Job Carr's original cabin, were both constructed on the traditional lands of the Puyallup people, where they make their home and speak the Lushootseed language.
#JobCarrEureka
In 2014-15, we celebrated 150 years since Job Carr's "Eureka!" moment, when he decided to stake his claim on the site that became "Tacoma City" and built a cabin on the shores of Commencement Bay.
Read about the historic moment and Job, the man, in this News Tribune article.
2014 Mayoral Proclamation
Whereas Job Carr was the first non-native settler to build a permanent residence on the shores of Commencement Bay, traveling 3,000 miles on the Oregon Trail to settle in Puget Sound 150 years ago because he believed there was opportunity here;
Whereas, Job Carr comprehended not only the beauty of Tacoma, but also its potential as a port city…
Whereas, Job Carr was recognized by the early settlers of Tacoma as a civic leader, and became Tacoma’s first Mayor, Postmaster, Notary Public and Justice of the Peace…
Whereas, Job Carr originally claimed 168 acres of land that now consists of Old Town Tacoma and the North Slope, and set an example of generosity and hospitality to be admired and emulated, by welcoming any and all visitors to his home…
Whereas, Job Carr remained a staunch Tacoma booster – even when the Northern Pacific Railroad terminus was placed 2.5 miles south of Tacoma City – continuing to sing Tacoma’s praises to any who would listen until his death in 1887…
Whereas, Tacoma’s community leaders have preserved the memory of Job Carr and his accomplishments throughout several generations, and Job Carr’s story still inspires Tacoma’s third and fourth grade students; and
Whereas, Tacoma has become the world-class port that Job envisioned, and the beauty of our city still inspires new residents to find opportunity here;
Now, Therefore, I, Marilyn Strickland, Mayor of the City of Tacoma, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclaim November 1, 2014 as “Job Carr Day.”
