We preserve, celebrate, and most importantly, share the history of the San Mateo Coastside.
Please note: The museum will be closed on April 12, 2026 for a special event.
The Coastside History Museum, including the Jail, is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30am to 4:30pm. The exhibits and artifacts bring the San Mateo Coastside’s past to life, displaying its many cultures beginning with the Ohlone (Ramaytush), Californio (Mexican) eras, our fishing and agricultural heritages, and more.
We host free speaker events on local history topics, provide an education program to all schools in the area, and record oral histories to preserve the stories of the coast. If you have questions about Coastside history, contact our research team.
We are 100% volunteer run, and applaud new ideas on how to share our local history. If you have time to help us, or ideas on how to bring history to life, please contact us by email or phone.
We offer Coastside history videos to students, teachers and history buffs, and we serve as a resource for anyone with questions about the history of this unique region. We welcome new members and donations to support our programs. Please join us to volunteer as a docent, educator, work on our collections, research, and other activities.
Read more about Coastside History
-
Inventors and Innovators on the Coastside
-
Local History Revealed through Glass
-
More About Ohlone Basketry
More Stories>>
Nearby History museums and sites
Miramar: Small Town/Big History
Miramar is known for its restaurants and sunsets. With a population just over 2,000 people, it seems a sleepy, upscale, nice place to visit.
It wasn’t always the case, and I’ve found artifacts to prove it.
This small section of the coast has seen human activity for thousands of years. Inhabited by first nation people, it also had a place in Spanish Mission history, in the earliest days of the town of Halfmoon Bay, played a role during prohibition, and in California defense during World War II. Not bad for a small section of the coast.The areas in which we live—and where our ancestors originated—influence our food preferences. Look back into your life and remember family dinners, picnics, school-lunch-pail food, and the ethnicity of the meals you remember with fondness. [Article Continued]
Eating on the Coastside: Food Through the Ages
The areas in which we live—and where our ancestors originated—influence our food preferences. Look back into your life and remember family dinners, picnics, school-lunch-pail food, and the ethnicity of the meals you remember with fondness.
The Ohlone—the First Coastsiders
This article approaches how Coastside peoples—the Ohlone, Spanish, Californios, Gold Rushers, and World War II folks in the area—secured their food, and the tools and the cooking systems they used to prepare it. [Article Continued]