The first meeting of the Society took place after Dick Heuer, then the publisher of the Carmel Valley Sun newspaper, ran an editorial in which he stated the need for a local history society. This generated much interest from history-minded residents that culminated in the Society’s first meeting of its founding members held in William “Rosie” Henry’s “Cracker Barrel” store in January of 1987. Thereafter, the first meeting of the newly formed Carmel Valley Historical Society (CVHS) took place in February of 1987.

CVHS has always been committed to the preservation of the rich history of Carmel Valley; its early motto was Dedicated to the Future of Our Past. CVHS became a non-profit organization with 501(C)(3) status, and, in 1991, a board of directors was formed. The Society then became a member of the Conference of California Historical Societies and the Carmel Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Years of fundraising with a dream to open a museum showcasing Carmel Valley’s rich history culminated in the building of the History Center. The Board of Directors, with the help of many local donations, raised the funds to construct a for-purpose building for its History Center. Construction began in January 2009 on donated land located at 77 W. Carmel Valley Road on the southeast corner of the Carmel Valley Village Community Park. The building was completed in 2012 and opened to the public on December 7, 2013.

Turning a Dream into Reality

Since the founding of CVHS, many individuals have worked to shape the Society into the vibrant organization it is today. In addition to numerous exhibits and displays, our Historians have written numerous books and articles documenting the unique history and heritage of the Valley, donating all proceeds to the Society.
Docents welcome visitors each weekend while other volunteers staff the board of directors and committees. Our website includes a virtual tour of the History Center Museum, a searchable database of our quarterly newsletters, The Carmel Valley Historian, as well as 20 years (1962-1981) of digitized, searchable issues of the Carmel Valley Outlook newspaper.

Our logos have changed over time. Founding member and local artist Julia Harvey designed the Society’s iconic artistic logo at its inception in 1987.