MARTINSON CABIN RESTORATION
The Martinson Cabin museum officially opened to the public on September 29, 2006. This culminated years of patience by the Martinson family, perserverance by Bill Austin and the Bight of Poulsbo group, donations by many civic-minded businesses and individuals, countless hours of volunteer time, cooperation of the City of Poulsbo and the Poulsbo Historical Society's determination to make this jewel available to the public.
Martinson Cabin in 2006
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2009-10 Public Hours
Docents On Site:
Fridays 1:00pm-4:00 pm
Saturdays 10 am-4:00 pm
Located near SE corner of Viking Avenue and Finn Hill Road intersection.
Across Viking Avenue from Kitsap Tire Center.
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Cabin Exterior
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Cabin Interior
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The Story Behind Your Museum
Who are the Martinsons?
The Martinson family story begins when Norwegian immigrant Michael Martinson came to the United States in 1882. When he arrived in Tacoma three years later, he met Martha who was also from Norway. In the early 1890s, they moved to Poulsbo and raised four children – sons Axel and Berger and daughters Adeline and Elvira. Axel died at age 7; the two girls left the farm after they married, so Berger Martinson inherited the land from his parents. He and his wife Myrtle and their three children turned it into a dairy farm in 1933.
The Martinson Cabin was originally located in the Lincoln district near Bond Road and Stottlemeyer. There, the family had 40 acres to live on and farm. Under the federal Homestead Act of 1863, homesteaders could take ownership of the land only after paying a $20 fee, making improvements and living on the land for five years.
The Martinson family built a home which burned down after two years. Their second home, “our” cabin, was constructed with logs harvested from the area and hewn to have four flat sides each. This precision, with dovetail joints at each log end, meant the logs held together perfectly without the use of nails. Some of Michael’s hand tools used in the cabin construction are now displayed inside the cabin. The cabin represents a chapter in Poulsbo and Martinson family history from 1897 to the 1920’s, when Berger Martinson and his family built a new house on their land. Even with the new home nearby, Martha Martinson, the family matriarch, was reluctant to leave the cabin and continued to live there for some time. The cabin eventually became a bathhouse.
Berger Martinson and his wife raised two sons, Vern and Bernard, and daughter Elaine. Vern Martinson, lives in Poulsbo to this day, purchased the dairy farm from his father when Berger retired. He kept the operation going using modern dairy equipment before later starting Vern's Topsoil business on the property.
In 1989, the Martinson family farm was honored by the State of Washington as one of the state's last remaining centennial farms, meaning it had been under the same family ownership for a century. The Martinson Cabin was moved from the Lincoln district to its Nelson Park location in 2003.
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How was the Cabin Saved?
 Restoration of the Martinson family cabin began when the Martinsons donated it to the Bight of Poulsbo organization. Poulsbo resident and Bight of Poulsbo founder, Bill Austin, worked diligently to relocate and reconstruct the cabin piece by piece. He numbered each log and reassembled them in their original order. The first layer of logs was too rotten to reuse. A concrete foundation was set in its place to maintain the cabin’s original height. In order to meet current building code requirements, the logs were secured in place with metal rods. The cabin roof today is the same slope as the original, which was tin over cedar shakes. Shakes used for the restoration were obtained from local resident, Larry Brown, and some were specially made for the cabin.
Many individuals and businesses contributed to the project. Once restoration work concluded, the Bight of Poulsbo donated the cabin to the City of Poulsbo to be used for public education. By lending its artifacts and members to the cabin, the Society is able to fulfill its goal of Bringing the Past to Life.
Partnership With the City of Poulsbo
In the spring of 2006, PHS submitted a proposal to the City to use the cabin as an educational facility to teach residents and visitors about Poulsbo’s early history. The City recognized the importance of preserving and using the cabin and agreed to support their building by servicing it with electricity, exterior maintenance, and security.
Student Volunteers Lead the Charge
Student volunteers Sophie Bonomi and Elizabeth Nodolf created an outline of Poulsbo’s early history, the cabin then and now and the Martinson family’s history. Sophie interviewed Vern and Pat Martinson and learned a great deal about what life was like inside the cabin for Vern’s grandparents. The girls then searched the Society’s collection for artifacts to support their storyline. They cleaned and prepared objects and contributed to the display of furnishings representing several families in the community. Sophie and Elizabeth not only worked on the cabin’s interior but they also advocated the project to the Mayor and City Council as well as to members of the Poulsbo-North Kitsap Rotary Club, who donated $1,650 to the project.
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Community Support
Community members contributed objects and furnishings to the cabin. Sophie and Elizabeth learned how to arrange artifact loans and donations and had a great time meeting with people in their homes. You can learn the about the objects inside the cabin. Many volunteers contributed their time and labor inside the cabin.
NEW HISTORIC DOWNTOWN MUSEUM
HELP US ACHEIVE
FUTURE GOALS FOR OUR COMMUNITY 
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