Havre de Grace Maritime Museum Havre de Grace, Maryland

Street Address

100 Lafayette Street
Havre de Grace, MD 21078

Email:
Web: www.hdgmaritimemuseum.org

Museum Hours

January - May

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday		11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

June - August

Daily		10:00 a.m, - 5:00 p.m.

September - December

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday		10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Admissions

Adults - $3
Students and Seniors - $2
Children 8 and under are Free

Description

Located where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay, the Maritime Museum invites you to come experience “Where Bay Life Begins.” Through its exhibits and programs the Museum endeavors to interpret the region’s rich maritime heritage. Encounter what life in the past was like on and by the water in the “Harvesting the Bay” exhibit. Engage in the boat building way of life through the Chesapeake Wooden Boat Building School, where students preserve the timeless art of wooden boat building. Embark on discovering the living Bay through the Susquehanna Flats Environmental Center. Join us as we launch a Capital Campaign to finish the facility and install a new exhibit narrating the story of “1608: Life 400 Years Ago.”

History

The Havre de Grace Maritime Museum was founded in 1988 by a group of historically minded citizens to collect, document, preserve, and interpret the maritime skills, heritage, and ecology of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay regions.

Year Founded: 1988

Artifacts Collections

The Museum’s collection is fundamental to fulfilling this mission. Though small in comparison to some institutions, our collection continues to grow steadily. It is comprised of items (objects, photographs, archival materials, and books) relating to maritime activities in the Upper Bay. While most of our donors are local, we have received collections items from all over the United States, including New York and California, as well as from overseas. Some of our largest collections are made up of boats and boat building tools, which are featured in the Chesapeake Wooden Boat Builders School (CWBBS) as well as an exhibit discussing “Boat Building Tools and Traditions.” We also have a large collection of nautical instruments, including compasses with dates ranging from the 18th century to the present, as well as other navigational tools, most of which are on display in our “Navigation: Tools of the Trade” exhibit. Other significant aspects of our collection are objects relating to the commercial fishing industry. This collection of photographs, nets, motors, boat components, fishing implements, logbooks, and other related items comprise the majority of our “Harvesting the Bay” exhibit.

·	antique and classic boats
·	maritime artifacts
·	art
·	photographs
·	written history of the Lower Susquehanna River and Upper Chesapeake Bay

Research Collections

Our research collection is in its infancy. Until our Capital Campaign inprovements are completed, we do not have the proper storage facility to catalogue and preserve documents, manuscripts, and general library books. Upon completion of the facility, we will be able to accommodate research collections.

·	maritime history
·	current condition of shorelines of Susquehanna Flats

Research Fields

·	maritime history
·	current condition of shorelines of Susquehanna Flats

Services


Gift Shop, Special Event Rental


The WhatKnots Museum Shop carries a variety of nautical knicknacks, jewelry, apparel, toys, books, and gifts. The Museum is available for special event facility rental. Interested parties should contact the Museum at (410)939-4800 or museum@comcast.net for more details.

Publications

The Maritime Messenger, our newsletter, is published quarterly.

·	Newsletter (quarterly)
·	The Maritime Messenger

Facilities

·	12,000 sq. ft. museum building

Programs

Our public programs are vital to carrying out the Museum’s mission. As a result of our exhibits, tours, hands-on learning activities, CWBBS classes, lectures, concerts, Festivals, and other special events, the Maritime Museum has set the standard for cultural, historical, educational, and entertaining activities in Havre de Grace. For example, the Chesapeake Woodenboat Building School attracts a large number of adult students each semester, and the week-long Teen Boat School in the summer is always an enriching experience. As the CWBBS endeavors to preserve the art of wooden boat building, the Susquehanna Flats Environmental Center (SFEC) is dedicated to educating the public in the environmental issues involving the region and what can be done to preserve our greatest natural treasure, the Chesapeake Bay. Children’s Day in March and the Summer Camp by the Bay are great opportunities for kids to learn about the Bay, archaeology, the environment, the history of the region and have fun at the same time. Many of the local elementary and middle schools, as well as schools from Baltimore and Cecil counties, Pennsylvania and Delaware have brought entire grade levels to the museum for interactive tours. Numerous Senior Adult tour groups have also made us a regular stop in their itineraries.

Our lecture and concert series, which run from September to May, invite experts and other special guests to speak or share on various regional and maritime topics from Native American History to Bayscaping and the environment to the music of the Navy during the War of 1812. The Maritime Heritage Festival (Mari*Fest) is by far our largest event of the year. Free to the public, Mari*Fest features live music, boat building demonstrations, local foods and crafts, living history displays, activities for children, a boat raffle, and other events. Normally held the first week in June, Mari*Fest 2007 will be held in July and promises to be our biggest, most exciting event ever. In honor of the 400th Anniversary of John Smith’s voyage up the Chesapeake Bay, a replica of Smith’s discovery vessel, or “shallop,” will sail into Havre de Grace from Jamestown, VA.

·	Annual Havre de Grace Maritime Festival
·	Chesapeake Wooden Boat Builder's School
·	Annual Maritime Heritage Tour for Middle Schools - boat building demonstrations
·	Susquehanna Flats Environmental Center

Staff

Brenda D. Guldenzopf, Executive Director
Phone: 410-939-4800
Fax: 410-939-0019
Email:

Iris Barnes, Public Relations

Ann Persson, Museum Educator and Curator

Jessica Calder, Office/Gift Shop Manager

Keira Gruber, Collections Intern


Museum Type

General
History
Nature Centers

Governance

Board of Directors
Non-profit


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