The Jean P. Haydon Museum is housed in a 1917 building that served as the US Navy headquarters when American Samoa was administered by the Navy Department. After civilian administration took over in 1951, the building became the territory's main museum, covering American Samoan history, traditional culture, and the natural environment.
The collection includes traditional Samoan tools, weapons, and household objects, alongside material from the naval period. The tattooing exhibit is one of the better introductions to the pe'a — the traditional full-body male tattoo that remains an important part of Samoan identity. The museum is small and the displays are not lavish, but for the context it provides on fa'a Samoa (the Samoan way of life), it is worth an hour.