The Society was established at a public meeting on 20 November 1839, with an annual subscription of 10 shillings or life membership of £5.
[1] Despite the initial enthusiasm, very little happened as the Secretaries and Curators' Report at the 1845 AGM concluded with "The society having somewhat revived from the torpor which has for some time hung over it, the council hopes that its increased energy will be continued without further interruption".
A petition, dated 26 April, had been made to the Mayor of Penzance, Charles Campbell Ross following concern that the museum had accumulated arrears of nearly £100 and was in danger of being sold.
The annual excursion and lectures continued into the 20th century and the 1935 AGM reported a membership of 160 and a credit balance of £55 10s 10d.
[7][8] In 1839 the Museum was housed in the dome of the Market House, (now Lloyds Bank) and moved to the newly built public buildings, now known as St John's Hall, in 1867, where it joined the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall and the Penzance Library (later to become the Morrab Library).