Welcome!
Burlingame, California is a special place just 16 miles south of San Francisco. Incorporated in 1908, it has become a tree-lined suburb with a variety of home styles ranging from English Tudor and American Bungalow to Spanish Revival and Streamline Modern. Its more than 100-year history reflects the influence of the Spanish Ranchos as well as the area’s turn-of-the-century wealthy elite. Here you will enjoy photos, stories, memories and more.
Our Accomplishments
As an all-volunteer organization, we are proud of what we have been able to do to enhance the understanding of our town’s rich and diverse history, thanks to our volunteers, members and donors.
- Passport Tours
- Our Book
- Murals
- Restoration of old City Hall Cupola
- Numerous Historical Panels throughout Burlingame
- Obtained listing of Howard-Ralston Tree Rows in National Register of Historic Places
- Street Plaques
Our Leadership
The society is managed by an elected board of officers. The board is elected each year at the annual general meeting of the society. All members are permitted to nominate candidates and to vote.
Learn More About Us
The Burlingame Historical Society was founded in 1975 by a small group of women who recognized then that no one was saving anything from our city’s past. Today, there are over 125,000 artifacts, photographs, manuscripts and items of interest cataloged in our archives. We are a registered 501c3 non profit association. Made up of all volunteers that serve on our board of directors, as archivist, researchers and museum docents. A synopsis of many of our activities can be viewed in this short summary presented during our 2019-2020 Annual Meeting in February 2020. Burl Historical Soc 2019 brief accomplishments (1 MB PDF)
A vintage postcard shows Burlingame’s famed train station.
The Burlingame Historical Society seeks to promote interest in and preservation of all matters relating to the history of Burlingame and neighboring Hillsborough, California. The society was founded on December 3, 1975 in cooperation with the San Mateo County Historical Association, with whom it shares common goals, particularly as they relate to the Burlingame and Hillsborough, California area.
The Burlingame Historical Society’s single minded goal is to preserve Burlingame and Hillsborough’s history and educate those who would like to learn more. The Society is the sole repository for Burlingame and Hillsborough’s history. Since its inception the society has been quietly preserving artifacts, documents, photographs, films and audio tapes as well as many other items that help tell the story of Burlingame and Hillsborough’s rich and diverse past. From photographs of Teddy Roosevelt’s visit here in 1903 to Miss Burlingame of 1935’s wedding dress, nowhere else does there exist the depth and breadth of materials available to research the towns of Burlingame and Hillsborough, California.
Membership is open to all individuals and associations who have an interest in the history of the area regardless of their city of residence. We exist through the generous support of community members, old and young. We gain financial and material support through individual and corporate community donations. Our acquisitions are almost exclusively donated by private individuals and much of our support is through membership fees.
It is with this focus that we reach out to the community and tell tales of Burlingame and Hillsborough so that the residents of the future will grow closer together through our shared interest in our town.
We hope we see you at one of our quarterly meetings soon. Open to members and non-members alike the Historical Society meetings are for all community members interested in Burlingame and Hillsborough’s past.
Quarterly Meetings
Our quarterly meetings are open to the public and attendance is free of charge. The meetings provide an opportunity to enjoy presentations by local experts of archival materials about Burlingame’s past. Of course contributions that support the society are always welcome. Plan on meeting old and new friends at the Burlingame Historical Society’s quarterly meetings. Some of our recent presentations can be viewed online by visiting the “Exhibits” tab on the main page of this website.
Research
Would you like to know more about the history of your house or property in Burlingame? In our archives of thousands of cataloged items dating back to the early 1900s, including phone books and newspapers, we have access to information on many people, places and events that are related to Burlingame and Hillsborough. We provide research services for members and non-members, alike. For extensive research projects we charge $100/hour for research services. For more information contact the Historical Society at burlingamehistorical@gmail.com. Or fill out this research payment form.
Board Meetings
The Burlingame Historical Society board meets the second Tuesday of each month at 9:30am at the Burlingame Historical Society office on the first floor of 250 California Dr., Burlingame. Members of the public are welcome to observe these meetings.
Newsletter
The Society publishes a quarterly newsletter for members. The archives has a complete collection of the more than one hundred newsletters of the society. Please become a member and we will send you a newsletter!
