Hayward Area Historical Society

It was awesome but kinda sad that they didn't have the kids play area anymore but over all nice quiet place to look threw history

Who would have thought that this little gem would be tucked away in Hayward? I've got to say, I was quite surprised! The Hayward Historical Society is a local Hayward history museum that features 4 different exhibits. There are two permanent exhibits (History exhibit and children's exhibit) and two that are rotating (the community exhibit and the special exhibit). The history exhibit is filled with tons of old Hayward artifacts, photos, historical excerpts, and replicas of what daily life and activities were life in Hayward back in the day. I was really fascinated by their Hayward Community exhibit and I loved watching snippets of the documentary at the mini movie theater. The children's exhibit is very interactive and features a vintage cash register along with a mini grocery store with fake vegetables and other items for sale. It's a recreation of ancient Hayward civilization and I was impressed with how they were able to incorporate this into a kid's play area. The two rotating exhibits were quite intriguing as well. During the time that I attended, they were displaying both a risqué exhibit and a women's rights exhibit. I thought it was ironic that they displayed both of these exhibits at the same time since they kind of contradicted each other, but I thought that it made for a great juxtaposition. The risqué exhibit was known as their special exhibit and no photos were allowed for this one. Admission is $5 and you can easily spend over an hour exploring the museum in its' entirety. They have a parking lot located behind the building and there's also a small cafe, but of course, so food or drink is allowed while inside. All in all, I really enjoyed learning about the history of Hayward and I encourage anyone to come out and visit to get informed (especially if you're a Hayward local!).

Brunch at The Cannery inevitably led to checking out the museum. $5 adult admission, $2 senior discount.Pretty small, can get through all the exhibits in about an hour (skipping over the children's interactive section). Born in Hayward and grew up in Fremont, so it was interesting to see/learn about the city's history. I didn't know Castro Valley was unincorporated and not its own city! They have a lot of artifacts and info from early days, WWII era, school paraphernalia, awards/trophies/key to the city, transportation methods, produce/canning, the old movie theater, so much neat stuff in one place. They were setting up the Day of the Dead special exhibit and we got a sneak peak of all the sugar skull-themed local artwork too which was cool.There was a docent/volunteer available to answer any questions as well.

This is a pretty remarkable little museum.And it's FREE for the remainder of 2018 due to a generous donation. So no excuse. Come on by. (Okay, John Z, you have an excuse.)Having had a delicious brunch at the adjacent Cannery Cafe, we decided to stroll through the museum. The Hayward History room was interesting, but the two floating exhibits, Loyal Americans ( through October 28 http://www.haywardareahistory.org/loyal-americans ) and Black and White (through August 19... hurry! http://www.haywardareahistory.org/black-and-white) were terrific.The photography and back stories in Black and White were particularly compelling.I look forward to seeing what they have next!

Cute little museum. There's a children's area that's clean and big enough for kids and adults to play. The art section is great too with a good mix of paintings and sculptures. It's free! Walk off ur food from the Cannery next door.

My stepdaughter came in for an extended holiday visit so I was looking for free indoor activities to do with both girls(mine is 10, big sis just turned 18). We had a great visit to the new Hayward Area Historical Society. I remember the old museum near the fire house but I'm way late on the new location. Wow. It was educational, engaging, clean, with a warm, welcoming volunteer staff genuinely thrilled to see us. Our docent Scott have us an overview of Hayward history and the museum. Then we wandered on our own. The girls weren't especially into the children's gallery but we all liked the permanent history exhibit and the special exhibits. In fact, that is what drew us to the museum, both the Day of the Dead exhibit(closing end of Thanksgiving weekend) and Loyal Americans, an often poignant look at the Japanese American internment experience. We spent about an hour here and my teenager didn't bring out her smartphone once. Hayward proud!

Quaint but cool museum in Hayward. I like it's free and was able to stay open through a donation. My family and I enjoyed walking through it and seeing some of the history of Hayward. It's stroller friendly and they even have a little kids area down a couple of stairs. You can easily do this in about an hour if you take your time. I just wish they sold some cooler swag; my dad and uncle were looking for a Hayward t-shirt but the only ones offered have HAHS written on them. They were cool, but not exactly what they were looking for. Connected to the Cannery Cafe; just can't bring any food or drink inside. You also can't take photos for some reason without special permission I think.

I liked it!even tho im partially biased I still thought it was gd.lots of info and way bigger than the pics are in the yelp photosalso they have 2.5hr movie to watch like a theater of the history from the 1940s -1948 but they have other history dating back further than that and many many books that I've never seen anywhere else and trust me I've looked.also a kids galley/room which I didn't think the kids would like but ending up staying there for hours. Plus it wasn't busy, went on a sat afternoon like 2pm ish, plent of parking in back too.

Came to eat at The Cannery Cafe for brunch and ended up here after. This place was great for the kids after brunch. Seeing the history of Hayward and all the old/antique things they have is really interesting. Plus the kids loved the area they have that has play fruit, an area to catch fake fish, an antique cash register, an area like a hotel front desk, and a bunch of accessories they can play with. We stayed here for about an hour and the kids did not want to leave. Definitely will be coming back.

This little museum was very comprehensive. A lot of thought went into putting together the exhibit and placards were interesting. I definitely got a feel for lifestyles "back in the day."I especially liked the colorfully painted firetruck from the late 1800s. It was a little difficult to follow the order of the displays in the main room. The Japanese internment exhibit had some great old newspapers and lovely artwork. I hadn't heard much about this historic event so it was great to learn more. The childrens' exhibit was excellent!Entrance is through the Cannery cafe. Admission is currently free thanks to a donation from the Edward E. and Donna L. Martins Foundation! Otherwise I'd say it's worth $5.