Orcas Island Heritage is a project of Washington Rural Heritage, a collection of historically significant materials residing in libraries, heritage institutions, and private collections throughout Washington State. The collection includes photographs, documents, and artifacts which tell the stories of Washington's small and rural communities.

The Orcas Island Public Library has existed since 1988 as a tax-supported institution. However, the public has had access to a library on the island since the Madrona Club made its collection of 175 volumes available in 1909. This collection of digitized text and images is our attempt to capture some of that rich cultural history. In partnership with the Historical Museum, the Library chose two geography theses, a history timeline, a history of Rosario, and a cookbook history of the Olga hamlet for this introductory collection. These items only hint at the variety of Orcas Island stories to be told.

The mission of the Orcas Island Historical Museum is to educate, inspire, connect and involve our community and visitors in the stewardship of our unique island history. They serve Orcas Island residents and visitors to the island by offering new exhibits, presentations and speakers, tours, research assistance, the annual Historical Day Fair, open house celebrations, regular visitation hours, opportunities for special appointments, newspaper articles and quarterly publications.