Bringing Novato’s History to Life

The current museum at the old Postmaster’s House is on the wrong side of DeLong Avenue. Docents and visitors must cross busy 4-land DeLong Avenue to reach the museum. Novato 3rd Graders, who visit the museum each year and tour old town, must cross DeLong Avenue Twice. City-owned Postmaster House is charming and historic, but small and cramped, with accessibility issues and limited parking.

The Novato Historical Guild plans to relocate the Museum to City-owned Scott House at the Civic Green – a perfect location with accessibility to all as well as more space for exhibits, lectures, meeting and community events.

The Guild and City of Novato signed an agreement to transform Scott House into a fully accessible, modern museum using Guild funds. In exchange, the Guild has the right to operate the Museum at Scott House for 50 Years.

Investigation of Scott House determined that the cost to renovate as a museum is $3.2M. The Guild began fundraising in April of 2025 and reached our $3.2M goal by December 2025. Fundraising was a grassroots effort with a combination of 190 donations, pledges and grants. The smallest donation was $5 and the largest was a bequest from the Charmaine Burdell Estate for $1Million. This is truly a Gift from the Novato Historical Guild to the Novato community.

The City - Guild partnership of 50 years will continue. The City Council and Guild Board of Directors signed a joint working agreement that included responsibilities of both parties and set up a joint bank account to be funded by the Guild and used to pay consultants and construction costs.

The city will contract with architectural, structural, geotechnical and other consultants to prepare construction documents necessary for permits, bidding and construction. The goal is construction to begin in the late summer of 2026.