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 where you can explore the amazing history of boats and the sea around Long Island! This museum helps keep the stories of Long Island's maritime past alive. It has been welcoming visitors for over 50 years.
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Discovering the Museum's Past
The Long Island Maritime Museum opened in 1966. It was built on the waterfront land of what used to be a large estate. This estate belonged to Mrs. Florence Bourne Hard. The museum's main goal is to save and share Long Island's history of sailing and sea life.
The museum's main building used to be the estate's garage. Today, it holds many interesting things. You can see models of local boats there. There's also a special display about shipwrecks on Long Island. It also covers the brave people of the United States Lifesaving Service. Hervey Garrett Smith is known as the museum's founder. He was also its first director.
The Elward Smith III Library
Inside the main building, you'll find the Elward Smith III Library. This library is full of treasures! It has many books, old papers, photos, and boat plans. The library is a great spot for learning programs and meetings. It also displays unique boat models and trophies.
Historic Boats at the Museum
The Long Island Maritime Museum is home to some very special boats. Two of them, Priscilla and Modesty, are even National Historic Landmarks! This means they are super important to American history. Other boats you can see include "Pauline," "Kid," and "Lorelei."
The Story of the Sloop Priscilla
The museum got the Priscilla in 1976. This boat changed a lot over its long life. For many years, it traveled around Long Island and New York City. It was like a floating ambassador for the museum. Boats that work hard need lots of care. So, Priscilla always needed repairs.
Between 2002 and 2003, Priscilla had a big makeover. It took 19 months to restore it! Now, the boat looks just like it did in the past. It shows the great work of its builder, Elisha Saxton. Today, Priscilla is a floating exhibit. You can see it next to the 1908 Rudolph Oyster House. It's also docked near the 1923 scallop dredger Modesty.
Priscilla has been part of many special events. One famous event was the Parade of Tall Ships. This happened during the "Salute to the Statue of Liberty" celebration in 1986.
The Story of the Sloop Modesty
The oyster sloop Modesty was built in 1923. It was made by the Wood and Chute Shipyard. This shipyard was in Greenport, Long Island. Modesty was first built to collect oysters and scallops. It used its sails to dredge in the Peconic Bay.
Modesty is thought to be the last large sailing boat of its kind. It was built for shellfish dredging anywhere on Long Island. Even though it was the end of the age of sail, Modesty was built this way because of an old law. This law said that only sail power could be used for dredging shellfish. After working in Peconic Bay, Modesty moved to Connecticut. It finished its working life there as an oyster dredger. From the 1950s to 1974, it was used as a fun boat for different owners.
Other Historic Buildings and Exhibits
The museum has more than just boats! It also includes the Rudolph Oyster House. This building is a National Historic Landmark. It was used for sorting oysters.
You can also explore other cool exhibits:
- The Frank F. Penney Boatshop: This building used to be a laundry house. Now it shows how boats were made.
- The Bayman's Cottage (Beebe): This small house was built around the 1890s. It was moved to the museum grounds. It shows how baymen lived.
- The Everitt-Lawrence Small Craft Exhibition Building: Here you can see many smaller boats. These boats were made by important Long Island boat designers.
See also
- List of maritime museums in the United States
- List of museum ships
