Baranov Museum’s First Executive Director Looks Back

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

The Baranov Museum reached its fiftieth anniversary today and, in celebration, will invite its first executive director to share her memories.

Marian Johnson says she was always interested in the structure that now holds the museum.

The Erskine House is the oldest standing building in the state and a National Historical Landmark.

It was also a bit of a fixer-upper before Johnson tackled it.

“It’d been a rental for a long time, almost 20 years, so it was one of those buildings that accumulates good things and bad things, and there was no money, but there was that location, that gorgeous location up above the channel.”

Johnson worked at the museum for 25 years, cleaning, organizing, and grant-applying.

She’ll return to the museum tonight to give a talk about its establishment for the last installment of the History Speaks lecture series. That’ll begin at 7 p.m.