Long Island Maritime Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1966 |
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| Location | 88 West Avenue, West Sayville, New York, United States |
The Long Island Maritime Museum is a cool place in West Sayville, New York. It's all about the history of boats and life on the water around Long Island. The museum helps everyone learn about the amazing stories of sailors, fishermen, and the ships that sailed these waters. It's been open for over 50 years, sharing the rich maritime heritage with visitors from everywhere!
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Discovering the Museum's Past
The Long Island Maritime Museum started in 1966. It was built on the beautiful waterfront land that used to be part of the Meadowedge estate. This estate belonged to Mrs. Florence Bourne Hard in West Sayville. Florence Hard's father was Frederick Gilbert Bourne, who was the president of the famous Singer Sewing Machine company for many years.
The museum's main goal was to save and share the history of Long Island's connection to the sea. It wanted to teach people about the boats, the people, and the way of life tied to the water. The original mansion from the estate is now used by the West Sayville Golf Course and Country Club.
The museum's main building for exhibits and offices used to be the estate's garage. Inside, you can find many cool things. There are models of local boats and a special display about shipwrecks on Long Island. You can also learn about the brave United States Lifesaving Service. Hervey Garrett Smith is known as the person who started the museum and was its first director.
The old garage also holds the Elward Smith III Library. This library is full of books, old papers, photos, and boat plans. It's a great place for learning and for museum meetings.
Amazing Historic Boats
The Long Island Maritime Museum is home to some very special boats. Two of them, the Priscilla and the Modesty, are so important they are called National Historic Landmarks. Other boats at the museum include "Pauline," "Kid," and "Lorelei."
The Sloop Priscilla
The museum got the Priscilla in 1976. This boat changed a lot over its long life. For many years, until 2002, the Priscilla was like a traveling ambassador for the museum. It sailed to other places on Long Island and in New York City. Like all working boats, the Priscilla got a lot of wear and tear. It needed constant care and repairs.
Because it was getting old and worn out, the Priscilla had a big restoration project. This happened at the museum between 2002 and 2003. The restoration took 19 months! Now, the boat looks just like it did in the past. It shows the amazing work of its builder, Elisha Saxton, and the care of its past owners. Today, the Priscilla is a floating exhibit at the museum. It sits next to the 1908 Rudolph Oyster House. It shares the dock with the 1923 scallop dredger, the Modesty.
The restored 1888 Oyster Sloop Priscilla often sails for special events in the summer. It started taking passengers out on the Great South Bay in May 2010. The Priscilla has been part of many special boat parades. This includes the Parade of Tall Ships at the "Salute to the Statue of Liberty" Fourth of July Celebration in 1986.
The Oyster Sloop Modesty
The oyster sloop Modesty was built in 1923. It was made by the Wood and Chute Shipyard in Greenport, Long Island. This boat was first built to collect oysters and scallops using its sails in the Peconic Bay.
The Modesty is thought to be the very last large sailing boat built for collecting shellfish anywhere on Long Island. Its design was based on an older boat from 1892 called the Honest. The Modesty was built with a gaff-rigged sail. But it also had a two-cylinder gasoline engine put in during its construction. It's interesting that the Modesty was built so late in the age of sailing ships. This was because of an old law from before World War I. This law said that only sail power could be used when collecting shellfish.
After working as a scallop dredger in Peconic Bay until 1936, the Modesty moved to Connecticut. There, it finished its working life as an oyster dredger. From the 1950s until 1974, it was used as a pleasure yacht by different owners.
Cool Buildings and Exhibits
The museum also has other important historic buildings. One of these is the Rudolph Oyster House, which is also a National Historic Landmark. This building was used for sorting oysters.
There are other neat exhibits too:
- The Frank F. Penney Boatshop: This building used to be the laundry room for the Brooklyn Hotel in Center Moriches.
- The Bayman's Cottage (Beebe): This small house was built around the 1890s. It was moved from its first spot to the museum grounds.
- The Everitt-Lawrence Small Craft Exhibition Building: This building shows off many smaller boats. These boats were made by important Long Island designers like G.F. Carter, Wilbur Ketcham, Frank Conklin, and Gil Smith.
Want to Learn More?
- List of maritime museums in the United States
- List of museum ships
