The Connecticut River Museum is a U.S. educational and

cultural institution A cultural institution or cultural organization is an organization within a culture/subculture that works for the preservation or promotion of culture. The term is especially used of public and charitable organizations, but its range of meaning can ...

based at Steamboat Dock in

Essex, Connecticut Essex is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,733 at the 2020 census. It is made up of three villages: Essex Village, Centerbrook, and Ivoryton. History The Great Attack Essex is one of the few A ...

that focuses on the marine environment and

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

heritage of the

Connecticut River Valley The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

. The three-story Connecticut River Museum is located in a restored 1878 steamboat warehouse,“Southeastern Connecticut,” Baltimore Sun
/ref> which is now the only one of its type remaining on the river, and has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The museum opened to the public in 1975, with

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Governor

Ella Grasso Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Grasso (née Tambussi; May 10, 1919 – February 5, 1981) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 83rd Governor of Connecticut from January 8, 1975, to December 31, 1980, after r ...

as its first paid member and '' ex officio'' patron. The core of its collection came from the

Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford, Connecticut. The Wadsworth is noted for its collections of European Baroque art, ancient Egyptian and Classical bronzes, French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School lands ...

in Hartford, Connecticut, which provided the museum with a loan of nautical artwork, navigation equipment and maritime-related artifacts. THE TURTLE, ESSEX CT

The museum's main and third levels offer changing exhibits, while its second level is home to a permanent exhibition on shipbuilding, which includes historical maps and models of steamboats and exhibits on the piscine species in the Connecticut River.“A River Teeming With History And Wildlife,” Hartford Courant, August 19, 2004
/ref> The museum's collection also includes a full-scale replica of ''

Turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

'', the first American submarine, which was constructed in Essex in 1776 for use against the British in 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 ...

. The museum property also includes a boathouse and a research library. In December 1995, the museum was given a triangular waterfront property, valued at US$910,000, in the neighboring village of

Old Saybrook, Connecticut Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybroo ...

, by Bill and Victoria Winterer, who were among the museums co-founders. The property is used as a waterfront park managed by the museum.“Old Saybrook Property Donated to Essex Museum,” Hartford Courant, December 29, 1995
/ref> In 2011 the museum caught fire. They had to rebuild part of it.

References

External links

Connecticut River MuseumFlickr images
{{authority control Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Georgian architecture in Connecticut Transport infrastructure completed in 1813 Buildings and structures in Middlesex County, Connecticut Essex, Connecticut Museums in Middlesex County, Connecticut Maritime museums in Connecticut Science museums in Connecticut Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Connecticut Water transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Connecticut River

See also

References

External links