VACAVILLE MUSEUM

Discover the Treasures of Solano County

In the late 1970s, the idea of building a county museum in Vacaville emerged. Thanks, in part, to the generous donation of a land parcel by Eva Buck, widow of Senator Frank H. Buck, Jr., the Vacaville Museum opened its doors in 1984. It is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting the history and culture of Solano County with major collections of artifacts and photographs from throughout the county placed under the museum’s care.

Since 1984, the Vacaville Museum has produced more than 30 exhibits, as well as numerous publications important to the history and sense of place in Solano County. Located in a quiet, tree-shaded Victorian neighborhood in Historic Downtown, the Vacaville Museum offers interpretive, rotating exhibits and associated programs, and workshops.

Annual museum events include the Fourth of July Musical Americana, which draws yearly crowds of 300-400 people, and Sallie Fox Day, a tribute to local pioneer Sallie Fox, where families can participate in free hands-on butter making, dyeing cloth using walnut hulls, and simulated “gold panning”. Both events take place in the museum courtyard.



The Vacaville Museum is located at 213 Buck Avenue in Downtown Vacaville. The Gallery and Gift Shop are open Wed-Sun from 1-4:30pm. (Map it) For more information, call 707.447.4513.

The Vacaville Museum is Gifted the Harbison House

Another piece of Vacaville’s rich and colorful history, the Harbison House, is also under the responsible care of the Vacaville Museum.
The former family home of Nut Tree founder, Helen Harbison Power, now known as Harbison House, was re-located to a central site within the new Nut Tree Family Park After months of preparation, this last remaining architectural element of the former Nut Tree, a two story colonial revival house complete with six hollow redwood columns and ornate cast capitals was brought from its original location to a new placement on the same property, 1000 feet away.

The Harbison House and its contents were gifted to the Vacaville Museum by the 5th generation of former Nut Tree family partners in 1998. In cooperation with developer Snell & Co, the final architectural element of the once famous Nut Tree complex will be incorporated into the family theme park for the new Nut Tree. The Vacaville Museum will rehabilitate the house and open it to the public.

Shawn Lum, director of the Vacaville Museum, is clearly enthusiastic about the project. "Rarely does a Museum have such an exciting opportunity to combine the rich legacy of local history within the vivid dreams of the future. By incorporating Harbison House, the original home of the Nut Tree, within the new Nut Tree family amusement park, Snell & Co, Westrust and their partners are showing an amazing level of support for the Nut Tree experience enjoyed by former generations of highway travelers. History is all about context; and the rehabilitation of the historic Harbison House built in 1907 will be an ideal experience for active engagement with both the past and the future at Nut Tree." For more information on the Harbison House, contact the Museum directly at vacamuseum@aol.com.