History

Photo: University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division
Photo: University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division

From teenage club to world-class museum, the Burke’s story spans 130 years and continues into the future.

In December 1879, a group of teenagers watching Seattle transform before their eyes began to gather specimens and objects to document the world around them. They called themselves the Young Naturalists’ Society, and soon they began meeting weekly, organizing expeditions and holding lectures.

In 1885, the Society raised enough money for a small building to house their collection, and a museum was born. Located on the University of Washington’s original campus in downtown Seattle, the Hall of the Young Naturalists, as it was called, was the hub of natural history in the Pacific Northwest.

Over the years, the museum and the University became more and more entwined, as early professors become involved with the Young Naturalists’ Society and early members became University professors.

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Black and white photograph of Bug Johnson and Parkers 1890 collecting bugs
Photo: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW501
Photo: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW501

Pictured (from left) are Orson “Bug” Johnson, Adella Parker Bennett and Maude Parker in 1890. 

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black and white photograph of Young Naturalists Society founders 1882
Photo: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW21691
Photo: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW21691

Founding members of the Young Naturalists’ Society (from left) P. Brooks Randolph, Walter A. Hall, J.O. Young and Fred M. Hall on April 30, 1882. 

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black and white photograph of Hall of the Young Naturalists 1885
Photo: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW910
Photo: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW910

When the University's campus was in downtown Seattle, the museum got its first "building" in 1885 in this structure, known as the Hall of the Young Naturalists. 

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black and white photograph Parrington and Denny Halls ca. 1902
Photo: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW574
Photo: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW574

From 1895 to 1910, museum collections were displayed on the UW campus in the Administration Hall (right, now Denny Hall) and Science Hall (left, now Parrington Hall). 

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black and white photograph California Building exhibit cases 1910
Photo: Burke Museum Archives
Photo: Burke Museum Archives

The museum's cultural collections were housed in the California Building (part of Seattle's first world's fair) from 1910–1914.

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black and white photograph Museum students in Washington State Building 1950
Photo: University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW19956z
Photo: University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW19956z

Third-grade class seated on the staircase of the Washington State Building, one of the museum's many homes, on Dec. 7, 1950. 

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black and white photograph Portraits of Thomas Burke and Caroline McGilvra Burke ca. 1910
Photos: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW2733 (Thomas Burke) and #UW902 (Caroline McGilvra Burke)
Photos: UW Libraries Special Collections Division, Negative #UW2733 (Thomas Burke) and #UW902 (Caroline McGilvra Burke)

Judge Thomas Burke and Caroline McGilvra Burke shared a great interest in Native American culture.

The Washington State Museum

On March 6, 1899, the state legislature designated the museum as the Washington State Museum: “a depository for the preservation and exhibition of documents and objects possessing an historical value, of materials illustrating the fauna, flora, anthropology, mineral wealth, and natural resources of the state, and for all documents and objects whose preservation will be of value to the student of history and the natural sciences."

Today, the museum continues to serve Washington state by providing hands-on science and culture education; conducting original research and establishing baseline data; preserving our shared heritage by caring for 18 million objects; and providing tools for state and federal agencies. 

Land Acknowledgement

The Burke Museum stands on the lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, whose ancestors resided here since time immemorial. Many Indigenous peoples thrive in this place—alive and strong.

Becoming "the Burke"

Initially, the Young Naturalists’ Society didn’t have a formal name for their collections, but in 1885, they began calling their small museum the Hall of the Young Naturalists. Following the move to the current UW Seattle campus, the museum was known as the University Museum, and then in 1899, it officially became the Washington State Museum. The Burke acquired its current name in 1962, in recognition of a bequest honoring Judge Thomas Burke.

Thomas Burke (1849–1925) was a highly respected judge, successful businessman, civic activist and a tireless champion of education and culture in Seattle. Thomas and his wife, Caroline McGilvra Burke, shared a great interest in Native American culture and were among the earliest collectors of Northwest Native art. Many of their collections are now housed at the museum that bears their name.

a student and professor look at art together

Our Work

At the Burke, we bring together people, objects and the stories that make them meaningful.

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Photo: Mark Stone/University of Washington
Photo: Mark Stone/University of Washington