What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 3pm Tuesday 9am - 3pm Wednesday 10am - 4pm Thursday 9am - 3pm Friday 9am - 3pm Sunday 1pm - 4pm

Walnut Creek Historical Society

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Walnut Creek Historical Society

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The Walnut Creek Historical Society works with the city and community to carry out its mission to preserve, promote, and interpret local history.

10/28/2026

It's that time of year again! Our Holiday Tea reservations are open! This is a 16-day straight event with two tea seatings a day. We have weekday reservations available. Teas are by reservation only! There is also a Holiday Craft Faire going on throughout the house daily with FREE admission! If you have any questions, please call the office at 925 -935-7871 !

07/07/2026

The Summer Market will be held in our beautiful gardens at the Shadelands Ranch Museum. This will be an outdoor, open air market that will feature unique vendors selling a variety of items.
Come shop and grab a bite at the food trucks.

The museum will be open for tours!

The Summer Market is a fundraising event for the Shadelands Ranch Museum.

FREE ADMISSION - FREE PARKING - 2700 Ygnacio Valley Road (located behind museum on VIA MONTE) – Rain or Shine

06/10/2026

Happy summer, history lovers! With summer road trips in full swing, be sure to snag some souvenirs, like postcards, before you head home!

Generations of travelers have bought postcards as mementos of their summer road trips. Commonly depicting picturesque landscapes and stately buildings, postcards can encapsulate a memory or tell a long-distance friend you are thinking of them.

The postcards on display at WCHS throughout June and July hail from our extensive postcard collection. Postmarked from various decades throughout the twentieth century and depicting scenes from all corners of The Golden State, these postcards have been donated by various members of the Walnut Creek community. Each tells a story of adventure and exploration, but also of maintaining relationships over long distances. Have you ever sent a postcard?

Be sure to come in and check out our newest mini exhibit! You can even pick up a few historic postcards here!

05/13/2026

Hello, history lovers! In honor of our upcoming Classic Car Show, we are celebrating the long history of automobiles in Walnut Creek!

From touring cars and oldsmobiles to pick-up trucks and convertibles, automobiles have been a mainstay of American culture for over a century. Like many American cities, Walnut Creek and its citizens have seen the passage of many different types of vehicles, changing as technology, styles, and uses evolved over time.

The topography of Walnut Creek and its surrounding environs have also changed to support the proliferation of cars, underscoring the important role automobiles have played in the physical development of the city and surrounding area. Paving roads and digging the Caldecott Tunnel, for instance, have made this region more car-friendly while also forever changing the fabric of this landscape.

Furthermore, the automobile industry has played an incredibly important role in the economic development of Walnut Creek. From Brubaker’s to Lester G. Lawrence & Son, car dealerships and the like have supported local families and their business endeavors for decades.

Come check out our mini exhibit on the history of cars in Walnut Creek at our Classic Car Show on Sunday, June 7 from 10am-3pm at Shadelands Ranch Museum! Come enjoy the classic cars, food trucks, vendors and more! We hope to see you there!

04/12/2026

Happy spring, history lovers! This month we are commemorating the Tulip Teas and Shady Ladies in our temporary exhibit space!

First planted in 1924 by Edmund and Daisy Moyer, Shadelands Ranch used to be home to hundreds of thousands of tulips. Gordon Moyer, son of Edmund and Daisy, explained in an oral history interview from the 1980s that the tulip garden was his father’s hobby, and that the giant garden grew out of just 100 bulbs that were planted in 1924. Gordon also explained that his mother, Daisy, started hosting “Tulip Teas” in the mid 1920s to put their growing flower garden to good use. The Tulip Teas first began as a fundraiser for the Presbyterian Women’s Society and later grew into an annual event held for the Rotary Club. Proceeds were used to support community organizations and help with the upkeep of the gardens. Daisy served tea and cookies each Palm Sunday while the Rotarians and their wives admired Gordon’s beautiful and bountiful flowers. The garden was also open for viewing to the general public and drew visitors from throughout California. The Moyer’s gardens unfortunately died out after Gordon relocated to Sutter County in 1950.

The tradition of tea and tulips was revived in 1973. The Walnut Creek Historical Society (WCHS) purchased Shadelands Ranch in 1968 and opened its doors as a fully functional museum in 1972. The “Shady Ladies”, a women’s group dedicated to the restoration and upkeep of Shadelands Ranch Museum, commenced their own version of the Tulip Teas as a fundraiser for the museum. Starting in April of 1973, WCHS, led by the Shady Ladies, provided tea, cookies, tulips, and camaraderie to the citizens of Walnut Creek. Harkening back to the Moyer’s days, WCHS’s Tulip Teas aimed to celebrate the beauty of the home and its surrounding grounds. Proceeds from the teas were used to support the museum and its early staff. Although WCHS stopped the Tulip Teas in 1999, the legacy of the Moyer’s hard work and their dedication to the beautification of Shadelands Ranch is not forgotten.

The exhibit will be up for the entire month of April so be sure to come check it out!

Address

2660 Ygnacio Valley Road
Walnut Creek, CA
94598

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 3pm
Tuesday	9am - 3pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	9am - 3pm
Friday	9am - 3pm
Sunday	1pm - 4pm

Telephone

+19259357871

Website

https://wchistory.org/

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