The Mariners' Museum and Park is located in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the U ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Designated as America’s ''National Maritime Museum'' by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, it is one of the largest maritime museums in North America. The Mariners' Museum Library, contains the largest

maritime history Maritime history is the study of human interaction with and activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant. As an academic subject, it ...

collection in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

History

The museum was founded in 1930 by Archer Milton Huntington, son of

Collis P. Huntington Collis Potter Huntington (October 22, 1821 – August 13, 1900) was an American industrialist and railway magnate. He was one of the Big Four of western railroading (along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) who invested i ...

, a railroad builder who brought the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

Warwick County, Virginia Warwick County was a county in Southeast Virginia that was created from Warwick River Shire, one of eight created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. It became the City of Newport News on July 16, 1952. Located on the Virginia Peninsula on the no ...

, and who founded the City of Newport News, its coal export facilities, and

Newport News Shipbuilding Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the largest industrial employer in Virginia, and sole designer, builder and refueler of United States Navy aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Nav ...

in the late 19th century. Huntington and his wife

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

acquired of land that now holds of exhibition galleries, a research library, a lake, a five-mile shoreline trail with 14 bridges, and over 35,000 maritime artifacts from around the world. After the land acquisition took place, the first two years were devoted to creating and improving a natural park and constructing a dam to create

The Mariners' Lake The Mariners' Lake is a reservoir which was created as part of the natural park on the grounds of the Mariners' Museum and Park located in the independent city of Newport News in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia. The museum was ...

Artifacts, paintings, models

The museum’s collection totals approximately 32,000 artifacts, equally divided between works of art and three-dimensional objects. The scope of the collection is international and includes miniature ship models,

scrimshaw Scrimshaw is scrollwork, engravings, and carvings done in bone or ivory. Typically it refers to the artwork created by whalers, engraved on the byproducts of whales, such as bones or cartilage. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth ...

, maritime paintings, decorative arts, carved figureheads, working steam engines, and the world's only known Kratz-built

steam calliope A calliope (see below for pronunciation) is an American and Canadian musical instrument that produces sound by sending a gas, originally steam or, more recently, compressed air, through large whistles—originally locomotive whistles. A callio ...

. The museum holds important collections of paintings and drawings by marine artists James Bard and

Antonio Jacobsen Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen (November 2, 1850 – February 2, 1921) was a Danish-born American maritime artist known as the "Audubon of Steam Vessels". Biography Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark where he attended the Royal Academy of ...

.Mariner's Museum and Peluso, Anthony J., Jr., ''The Bard Brothers -- Painting America under Steam and Sail'', Abrams, New York 1997 The museum offers educational programs for all ages and a large research library and archives, as well as publications and Internet resources for teachers. The largest boat in its collection is the ''

Oracle Team USA 17 ''Oracle Team USA 17'' is an AC72 class catamaran of Oracle Team USA that successfully defended the 2013 America's Cup. The yacht was donated to the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, where as of 2017 it is on display. Career ''Oracle ...

'', the yacht that won the 2013 America's Cup.

Collection highlights

File:Marineers Museum Eagle.jpg, USS ''Lancaster'' Eagle, John Haley Bellamy File:Scrimshaw panbone civic heroes of the American Revolution.jpg,

Scrimshaw Scrimshaw is scrollwork, engravings, and carvings done in bone or ivory. Typically it refers to the artwork created by whalers, engraved on the byproducts of whales, such as bones or cartilage. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth ...

panbone, 1857, Civil Heroes of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

and

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, created by Nathaniel S. Finney File:Steamboat model commonwealth music box.jpg, Model of the Steamboat ''

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

'' crafted by John Dean Benton, c. 1864 File:Elgin cutlass pistol.jpg, Elgin Cutlass pistol File:Royal Sovereign Model King George III.jpg, Intricate and lavish model, c. 1804, of HMS ''Royal Sovereign'',

Royal Yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

File:Ghana dugout ahima sankofa boat.jpg,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

dugout

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

, ahima, 2004 File:Gold commemorative coin King Edward III.jpg, Gold coin, c. 1361–1369, commemorating the

Battle of Sluys The Battle of Sluys (; ), also called the Battle of l'Écluse, was a naval battle fought on 24 June 1340 between England and France. It took place in the roadstead of the port of Sluys (French ''Écluse''), on a since silted-up inlet between ...

File:County of Edinburgh on the Beach.jpg, ''County of Edinburgh on the Beach'', c. 1902, by

File:Gloucester Inner Harbor.JPG, ''Gloucester Inner Harbor'', 1850, by Fitz Henry Lane File:Joseph Roux Octant.jpg, Octant made by Joseph Roux c. 1780 File:Silver-plated_Mariner%27s_Astrolabe.jpg, silver-plated mariner's astrolabe, 1645, made by Nicolao Ruffo File:AC72 in Speed and Innovation.jpg,

Oracle Team USA Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Clu ...

's AC72, winner of the 2013 America's Cup

USS ''Monitor'' Center

The Mariners' Museum is home to the USS ''Monitor'' Center. The ironclad ''Monitor'' was made famous in the

Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads, also referred to as the Battle of the ''Monitor'' and ''Virginia'' (rebuilt and renamed from the USS ''Merrimack'') or the Battle of Ironclads, was a naval battle during the American Civil War. It was fought over t ...

in 1862 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, and its remains were located on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean about 16 miles southeast of

Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shap ...

, North Carolina. The wreck site was designated as the United States' first national marine sanctuary, the only one of the 13 national marine sanctuaries created to protect a cultural resource rather than a natural resource or a mix of natural and cultural resources. Many artifacts from ''Monitor'' have been brought to the museum, including her turret, propeller, anchor, engine, and some personal effects of the crew. For several years, they were conserved in special tanks to stabilize the metal. The USS ''Monitor'' Center officially opened on March 9, 2007, and displays include a full-scale replica, the original recovered turret, and many artifacts and related items. Current efforts are focused on restoring the engine. Image:Marineers Museum Monitor Prop.jpg, Propeller from USS ''Monitor'' Image:Mariners Museum 2007 032a.jpg, Dahlgren gun

Park and Noland Trail

The Mariners' Museum Park is 550 acres of privately maintained, naturally wooded property that offers visitors a quiet and serene place to walk, run, or picnic. Within the Park is the 167-acre

. Following the shoreline of The Mariners' Lake is the five-mile Noland Trail. Dedicated as a gift from the Noland Family in 1991 and with significant ongoing financial support from the Noland Family, the trail has fourteen bridges, picnic areas, benches, handicap access, and mile markers. Each fall The Mariners' Museum hosts a 10K run on the Noland Trail. The Mariners’ Museum Park is open daily to the public. Benches at approximately every half-mile offer places of rest along the trail, and views of The Mariners' Lake can be found around every corner. The famous Lions Bridge, a dam that provides a scenic view of the James River, remains a highlight for visitors—a perfect family gathering place to enjoy the Museum Park. The beauty of the dam is enhanced by several fine pieces of statuary designed by Anna Hyatt Huntington, sculptor and wife of Museum founder Archer Milton Huntington. Four stone lions were mounted on the ends of the parapets of the dam in October 1932. Anna also created and dedicated a monument entitled ''Conquering the Wild'' that overlooks the Lions Bridge, the park, and The Mariners' Lake.

Notes

References

External links

*
USS ''Monitor'' CenterThe Mariners' Museum Image CollectionThe Mariners' Museum Twitter PageThe Mariners' Museum Facebook page
{{authority control History museums Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Landmarks in Virginia Maritime museums in Virginia Military and war museums in Virginia Museums established in 1930 Museums in Newport News, Virginia 1930 establishments in Virginia Private congressionally designated national museums of the United States