Who Are We And What Do We Do?
Mission Statement
PDMA is a Society committed to protecting, preserving, restoring and collecting items pertaining to the history of Princeton and the surrounding area. PDMA is proud of its volunteerism and community support.
Museum and Archive Collections
The PDMA has a wide range of historic collections reflecting Princeton's history:
•an extensive range of local pioneer items providing a visual record of life in Princeton
•A First Peoples basket display exhibiting various weaving styles and periods
•a fossil and mineral collection of over 40,000 specimens many from local sites
•Princeton newspaper collections from 1900 through to the present provide a rare accessible source for local families, historians, students and researchers (1900-1953 and 1998-2016 digitized and online)
•approximately 4,000 photographs from 1880 to present chronicling area history
•audiotape recordings featuring pre-1980 interviews with Princeton pioneers
•historic maps and mining reports from 1858 to present and original records of all mining claims in the area. All of significant value to historians, government and business
•a collection of 83 Notman Studios glass plate photographs; late 1800 - early 1900's
•an 1880’s cabin which housed John Fall Allison’s daughter Lily, her husband John Norman & their 6 children.
Museum Evolution
PDMA has evolved from a small group of dedicated citizens interested in preserving the area history to the current structure of a registered charity and BC Society.
•1958 Established in small log cabin
•1967 Town of Princeton constructed existing building as a Centennial project
•1970 Incorporated under societies act as Princeton and District Pioneer Museum
•1983 Name changed to Princeton and District Museum and Archives Society
•1985 Construction of Livery Stables and Farm Implement Shed
•1999 Joe Pollard Wing constructed to house 40,000 fossils and minerals
•2011 Expansion into former library space
The Princeton and District Museum and Archive Society is proud to operate the Princeton Museum. We have one of the finest small town museums in the province.
Our galleries are visually stunning thanks to the efforts of many talented craftsmen and artists. As one of the oldest communities on the mainland, we have a vast collection of fossils, minerals, photographs, newspapers, artifacts and stories that illustrate the history of this area.
We hope you enjoy visiting us online and that if you visit the Similkameen Valley, you will include a stop in Princeton. We are located two blocks away from the centre of town.
